It's your neighborhood Tupperware Lady!

"Hi, my name is Jim and it's been 2 years since I've been to a Tupperware party. My favorite piece of Tupperware is the ice cube tray and they don't make them anymore."

This post is to commemorate my mother's FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY of being the neighborhood Tupperware Lady.

October 1, 1961, I joined Tupperware and my life was changed forever. I was a stay at home mom with two small children ages one and two. I wanted a part time job to make enough money to buy Christmas presents. I planned to sell Tupperware for two months.

That was over forty nine years ago. I joined Tupperware to earn money. I stayed because of the friendships that I made. As my success in Tupperware grew, my self esteem grew. I was successful far beyond anything that I had expected.

As my self esteem grew, I became a better parent and wife. A year after I joined Tupperware, we had another child. I am fortunate to be married to Ted, who took care of our children in the evening while I held Tupperware parties. When I held daytime parties, a lady came to our home and stayed with our children.

My introduction to Tupperware was through my mother who used Tupperware when I was growing up at home. When I hosted my own Tupperware party, I realized that I was excited enough that I wanted to share Tupperware with my friends. So, I signed up.

At my Tupperware parties, I learn ideas from the party guests. When I wanted to learn to menu plan, I asked for ideas at my parties. Now, I teach menu planning at some parties. Tupperware taught me how to do microwave cooking and organize cupboards.

As part of my Tupperware training, I attend sales meetings and conventions to learn more. I hear motivational speakers and read motivational books.

I teach my party guests how to save time, work and money. They date parties to share the knowledge with their friends. Tupperware gives the hostesses gifts for having their parties.

My favorite Tupperware job description is, “I get paid for giving people presents.”

My mom started selling Tupperware before I was even born. I have never known an existence without Tupperware. Some have said the reason I still look so young and fresh is because my mother used to seal me in Tupperware to burp me. But I know that Tupperware is so well sealed that I would have suffocated.

My mom didn't just drink the Kool-Aid of Tupperware, she brewed it at home and kept it in a Tupperware pitcher.

My mom was also a Tupperware manager and as such she was given a brand new Ford station wagon every two years. Every two years we got a blue station wagon with wood paneling. Every two years you had to learn a new license plate. I still remember OVF 111.

Each quarter Tupperware had a promotion. You could earn prizes. Valuable prizes! My mom would being home the prize brochure and all the kids would clamor to be the first to look through it. "I want the stereo!" "I want a TV for my bedroom!" "I want the carpet!" (yes, that last one was me. I was redecorating my room when I was 7.)

Eventually each of us got our own stereo for our own room, "FFT" - "Free From Tupperware". That was the common term as you walked through our house:

• Microwave - "Free From Tupperware"
• Stereo - "Free From Tupperware"
• Dishwasher - "Free From Tupperware"
• Chest type freezer - "Free From Tupperware"
• Upright freezer - "Free From Tupperware"
• Television - "Free From Tupperware"
• Dining room table and chairs - "Free From Tupperware"
• Shelving unit in living room - "Free From Tupperware"
• Living room chair - "Free From Tupperware"
• Mirror - "Free From Tupperware"
• Nesting tables - "Free From Tupperware"
• That blue station wagon outside - "Free From Tupperware"
• and yes, that carpet in my room - "Free From Tupperware"

You didn't get all that stuff sitting around doing nothing. My mom was busy! She sometimes held three parties in a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. But she was also readily available for us. She ran her datebook like a Hollywood PR firm, a year in advance. If you knew you had a school program she would put that in her datebook and it was immovable. If you got sick and had to stay home, she could fudge her schedule and leave for her party at the last minute and return a little early after stopping at the store to get you ice cream. There you were laying in the chair ("Free From Tupperware") in the living room watching TV ("Free From Tupperware") and the ice cream was picked up in a blue station wagon with wood panelling ("Free From Tupperware") that came home to rest in the freezer ("Free From Tupperware").


By the age of 5, I could answer the phone properly, "Hello? Kehl residence. No, she's not here right now. May I take a message?" I felt so adult. Nowadays I think we'd have to call child protective services, something about child labor laws. Let's face it, I was actually earning that area rug for my room.

Every Wednesday the freight truck came to drop off all the Tupperware boxes for all the Tupperware ladies that worked with my mom. Wednesday meant the garage was full of Tupperware boxes and my parents had to park outside until they were all picked up.
There's the house with the big circular driveway. The freight truck had to come up the right side, swing around, back up to the garage and then leave by the left side. No variations. If it was a new driver my mom gave him notes before he got to the house about how to do it properly. No one wanted a repeat of the time they nearly pulled the electrical lines off the house by coming up the wrong side, or the incident where half the tree in the center was ripped off the trunk.

You can also see the steep banks on the side of the driveway. With each new Tupperware lady, a new attempt was made at navigating that driveway. Sometimes there would be more than four people picking up their boxes at the same time. Like our very own free reality TV show, we kids would line up at the front window and watch them try to back out the driveway, their view obscured by boxes filling their cars. too far left, too far right, over-correct... and BOOM, up on the soggy side of the driveway leaving a big tire track! We'd all get excited knowing that there would be another free show that night when my dad got home.

"Hey dad, did you see the driveway?"
"Yeah I saw it. What kind of person can't see that big a side of a hill!?"
"It took her three tries!"
"Jesus! Barb, tell those lady drivers to park on the goddamn street!"

My mom sorted her Tupperware in the basement. If we were home when the truck arrived, we would have the driver drop her boxes at the top of the outside basement stairs. Then we would place "The board" (a big wooden plank) on the stairs and turn it into a slide. The boxes, sometimes 20 or more (especially if it was Break Your Record Week) would all be sent to the basement. Once inside the basement, every single box needed to be unpacked. Round with Round, square with square, replacement parts over there, catalogs and party supplies over here, it was an elaborate system. Once it was unpacked, if I was helping my mom, she would call out what she needed from the order form and I would find it, grab it and bring it her workbench, into a plastic bag went what the customer ordered, "Tagged, bagged and ready to go."

My sister helped me learn how to write my name on a Wednesday night. I was so excited, I ran downstairs and sat on the basement steps to show my mom who was packing her Tupperware. "Look mom!" and I took out a purple crayon and wrote my name over and over on the wall next to the stairs. It stayed there until about ten years ago when they put in new stairs.

When we were young, my mom would ask if anyone wanted to make her deliveries with her. "ME! FRONT SEAT!!" And on Sunday nights she would complete her order by hand (in a triplicate form with carbon copies) and then need to take it to the post office before midnight to make certain it reached Seattle or Everett the next day. "Who wants to ride to the post office?" ME! FRONT SEAT!!! When we got old enough to drive, my mom would have us drive her on her deliveries as our practice driving. I think she didn't particularly enjoying the front seat at that point.

There are many phrases that ring through my head that I know my siblings can recite in their sleep. "Tagged, bagged and ready to go," is one of them. Another good one is "Guaranteed to not crack, chip, break or peel. But if you melt it we'll sell you a new one." Once we were adults we were allowed to learn the phrase, "No sex, no supper, just Tupper, Tupper, Tupper."

Our house was living showroom of Tupperware in action. My mom often held open houses to sell Tupperware and she was always ready to give a cupboard tour. We used to say that if our house caught fire we'd perish in the toxic fumes of plastic melting long before any flames reached us.

When we were kids, my dad was the most likely to yell at you for getting out of line. My mom was slower to take the bait of bad behavior. In our teens, my parents went away for the weekend leaving us home on our own. My older brother and sister could drive by then and we were in charge of ourselves. On the Sunday that my parents were going to be home, my sister called us all into the kitchen.

"Watch this," she said, then she opened up the fridge and placed a head of iceberg lettuce in the middle of the fridge. ALL BY ITSELF. NOT IN TUPPERWARE.
"No!" shouted my brother, "You'll get us all in trouble!"
"You're crazy," I mumbled, taking a step back, shaking my head in disbelief. "You know they come home TODAY."
"I don't care," she said, "They left us in charge. That's how I want to put it away."
This was her greatest act of defiance (uh, there would be more later). She closed the refrigerator door and walked out of the kitchen.
I turned to my older brother, "What do we do? Should we just put it in the Tupperware?"
"Don't touch it. Let's just see what happens. Remember, we can always blame Debbie."

A few hours later we were all watching TV in the living room when my parents pulled into the driveway. We jumped up, turned off the TV and ran to our own bedrooms. Each of us holding our breath.

My parents came in to the house, "Hello! Hello!" No one moved. The ice chest came in from the car, you could hear the ice slushing inside. This was it. Any minute now the fridge would be opened and naked lettuce would be revealed...

"We're home! Hello!" the slight creak of the fridge door opening..."What in the...?"

"GARY! DEBBIE!! JIMMY!!! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" My mother sounded very angry.

We all showed up in the kitchen. "What is this?" My mom pointed at the naked lettuce.
"Lettuce, duh." said my sister.
"Yes, I know that it's lettuce. Why is it like this in the refrigerator?"
"Uh," started my brother, "because that's where you keep lettuce?"
"Not like THIS," my mother grabbed the lettuce and pulled it out of the fridge, "this is just wasteful. You might as well be throwing your money away. Why would anyone pay good money for lettuce just to throw it in the fridge when there is a perfectly good lettuce keeper RIGHT HERE, this is beyond my comprehension!"
"DEBBIE DID IT!" I shouted and pointed at my sister.

We three kids thought this was the most hilarious thing we'd experienced, made only better by the fact that for years my mother still didn't see the humor when we told the story. "Perfectly good lettuce..." "Crisper right there in the cupboard..." "You kids think you're so funny throwing money away..."

Inducted into the cult of Tupperware we didn't know anything different. To this day I can not make Ziploc bags close. It's not a skill set I learned as a child. As each of us has married our spouses, they make the difficult transition to being Tupperized. I remember the first time I knew Lyle had drank the Kool-Aid. We were talking about Tupperware in our house (because there is so much of it) and a friend said, "I don't understand the big deal. You can use Rubbermaid the same." And Lyle launched into an explanation of potato chips and crispness with the zeal of a convert. There is no escape from the Tupperware. You will be assimilated.

And now it's 50 years. My mom has slowed down a bit and Tupperware has changed. It's not a station wagon anymore, it's a mini-van. The freight truck doesn't deliver to one house in the county, it gets shipped direct to each customer via UPS. No more midnight runs to the post office, everything is done through the computer. My mom still hold parties but not three a day. People aren't around during the day like they used to be and she doesn't have the same stamina it would take to do that. However, people do drop off broken parts at her house and just last week there was my mom, holding an open house, giving her cupboard tour.

Happy 50th Tupper-versary mom!

Two Questions

1. When did my parents get so short?
2. How do I stay so much younger?

My mother will be proud!

I rearranged my cupboards! For years now I have complained on how difficult it is to get the empty Tupperware out of the lower cupboard. So I moved it up top!

Which meant the food from up top moved over next to the stove, that cookware went low where the empty Tupperware used to live.

Yes, this is how we live.

My one complaint about growing up with my mother, the Tupperware Overlord, is that I am ill equipped as an adult to function in any ziplock capacity. So that's Lyle's department.

Parental Visitation

My parents came to town for a week. It's been three years since they were here last. My mom always says it's easier for me to come see them, then I counter with they're old and have nothing better to do than travel. We then sit down with a calendar and start to go over the year available.

January: I'm busy with work
February: It's gross here and it rains too much
March: We usually travel
April: Perhaps we'll travel twice this year?
May: Mother's Day and my mom's birthday
June: Too hot here for my parents
July: Too hot here for my parents
August: Too hot here for my parents
September: Too hot here for my parents
October: Work is very busy for us.
November: Thanksgiving
December: Christmas

So you see, there aren't a lot of times that work. Happily, October worked this year, and my parents took the train from Seattle to Los Angeles. a glorious, glamorous 36 hour ride on a train. I think they are crazy.

They arrived on a Tuesday night and on Wednesday we went to the Getty Center.

My dad got stuck in an artsy shot by me.

I showed them the panoramic view (that was hemmed in by fog at the outer reaches) and we did a small tour of the more modern paintings the Getty has.

Vincent van Gogh, View from the wheatfields.

After two hours, my dad said, "I'm done." That's about my endurance looking quietly at art as well. Looks like I come by that honestly. So we stopped and had a snack and some water (it's important to keep the parents fueled up).

On the tram that takes us back down to the parking area, we saw the vineyard on the hill of Bel-Air, The Moraga Vineyards.
It seems so surprising to find "farming" right there in the middle of the city, between the freeway and million dollar mansions.

When I asked my parents what they wanted "to do" while in town, they told me, "Just sit and visit. We don't have to go anywhere." Of course my response was, "No, we have to go somewhere, I can't talk to you both for 7 days with no break."

We took a driving tour out to Fillmore to buy pumpkins for Halloween. We drove out to Pasadena to see if we could see where the Station Fire had been in September (couldn't really see anything). We drove through downtown and Chinatown and around the Staples center. My parents enjoyed "tour by car" and only walked when I forced them out and into stores. We ate at Gladstone's on the beach in Malibu. We went out for dinner for our anniversary. We left them at home and went out for dinner another night for our anniversary. We ate a lot.

I watched the baseball playoffs with my dad.

Did you read that? I couldn't believe it either. But I did get smart and recorded it on Tivo so I could fast forward over all the commercials. Man, there are a LOT of commercials in baseball!

We had a Tupperware party.

My mom has been selling Tupperware longer than I have been alive. She is the Tupperware Queen. In an effort to give people a reason to come over and see/meet my parents, we had a Tupperware party.

My mom sent Tupperware down to my house in advance, and then supplemented her display from what I have in my cupboards. I have a lot. After the party, people went into my kitchen and looked in the cupboards and accused me of just putting everything away in Tupperware because my mom was here. I had to confess, no, I live like that every day.

Tupperware Prizes!

On our last day, the weather was gorgeous and I took my parents down to Venice.
That's quite a range for the outside temp, 68-84. I guess you're bound to be right at some point.

Dad was not amused that I kept shouting, "Don't jump! Don't jump!"

Baywatch Barb(ie).

We drove back through the canals of Venice. Something I had not down before. I want to go back. It was pretty.

You knew there were canals in Venice, CALIFORNIA... right?

Late last night I caught my mother doing something I NEVER thought I'd see. Seriously. As long as I've been alive. I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THIS:

My mother with a Ziplock bag!

Is it weird that I'm saying I'm happy to be sad today? My parents left this morning and I wish they had stayed longer. I'm glad it wasn't the other option. My parents left this morning and I was wondering why they stayed so long.

So before you know it, I was back at the train station in downtown Los Angeles and my parents were being whisked away for another 36 hour ride home.

They never moved so fast all week!

Wedding Belle Blues

Today I am feeling very "unprotected" in my own home. If anything happens to either Lyle or me we have no recourse, no connection, no bond, no safety net according to the law of the land. Don't give me any bullshit about legal papers or contracts between individuals. Time and time the system has shown that there are people who will ignore those and you are left to fend for yourself.

Since I can't put all I have in my head down on paper, I will share these photos with you.

Lyle's parents wedding.

Jim's parents wedding.

My sisters wedding.

My brother's wedding.

Our wedding.

I started saying this last November, I define my life. I am married. I have a husband. You can legislate against me and deny me my rights, but I define my life and will continue to do so.

I showed this little "blooper reel" to my family this weekend.

I'm sure I'm in big trouble for showing it here.

But I posted it anyway, didn't I?

Just part of what makes me fascinating...

Vote No on Prop 8, November 4th!

I am in Bellingham celebrating my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary!

I once voiced to my mother, some unhappiness I was having in a relationship. I said I was so angry that I could just pack it all up and walk out the door.

"Don't go just because your angry," said my mother.

What? I should wait until I'm deliriously happy and then leave? I replied sarcastically, Who would leave then?

"Uh-huh..." hummed my mother.

But if you can't leave just because your pissed off, and you'd be a fool to leave because things are making you happy... then what? You can just NEVER leave?

"Ah-ha..." said my mother.

Well that's not fair. There must be some reason that would allow you to leave, I spluttered. I was, after all, pretty unhappy and looking for any excuse.

"Leave because you don't feel anything at all." came my mother's advice, "if you're mad, that means you still care, if you're happy then things are working. But if you feel nothing, then it's done. And that is the only time you should leave."

I'm still with him past 19 years now. My parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary.

She's kind of a smart lady, that mother of mine.




Vote No on Prop 8, November 4th!

Mom's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

Last weekend I went to Bellingham, Washington to be with my family as we celebrated my mother's 70th birthday. It became a whirlwind non-stop activity filled weekend the likes of which I will need much time from which to recover . But I wanted to get a little something up here so I will just hit the highlights of the birthday weekend.

I arrived on Wednesday the actual day of my mother's birthday and we went out for dinner at Black Angus. This is my mother wearing her birthday tiara while receiving her birthday dessert. I know, that tiara is so small... I offered to bring her a crown that would announce to the whole world that she had just won Miss Universe, but she politely declined my offer saying she wanted people to talk about her and not the size of her crown. I swear, sometimes its like we're not even related.

On Friday I checked in to our hotel, The Chrysalis Inn & Spa. It is situated on the water, right above the railroad tracks. They even provide you with complimentary ear plugs ("my you have attractive ear canals!"). With the window closed, I didn't even notice the trains go by. As I told my mother, "they're quieter than the helicopters that fly over our house in LA."

The Alaska Ferry launches from Bellingham, on Friday evenings about 6:30 pm. There it goes right in the middle of the picture. This pic was taken from our hotel room window. I wish I could have stayed in my room more.

On Saturday morning I met up with my nieces and sister in law for a walk along the waterfront. This is my "athletic look" of dark denims and dress shoes, I did not plan on having any physical activity on this trip. I knew I had to be up by 9 am to be on schedule and I started waking up at 4:30 am in a panic that I had overslept. I woke up every half hour until I finally got up at 7:30 am. I am not a morning person. The photo above is us pretending to run like we are in Baywatch.

I change into my first official outfit of the day which was my "working" look of grey flannel pants and a pink button up shirt. I had to wear buttons so as to not mess up my hair when I change for the photo outfit. After the room is all set up and the decor is done, I change into a blue shirt with a blue, red and white Polo tie for photos.

Just before the launch of the Birthday Extravaganza at the Elk's club, I pose my mother in front of this mountain painting. She tells me that it was painted by her uncle Marvin. I tell her I am giving her picture my own personal title:

Little-Olde-Lady-Whooooooo!?!

There is a strict schedule we have mapped out and we begin promptly at noon with a photographer brought in for family portraits. Lyle and I organize this section of the day because let's face it, that's what we do for part of our living. Everything stays on schedule and at 12:45 we are finished with photos. I change into my party outfit of jeans, a pressed white French cuff shirt and plaid blazer with black patent leather shoes because I want people to talk about my shoes and not notice me. People begin to arrive early for the 1 pm party start time. The next 3 and half hours are a blur of people, people, people. I am tested time and again as to whether or not I remember people's names or how I may know them. I only fail once (sorry Rose) but in my defence my sister says it wasn't a fair test because Rose looks too good (and now you're welcome).

I also avoid having any cake or punch to avoid a crazy sugar rush. But finally it is 3 pm and the party starts to wind down. I have my piece of cake. The next thing you know I have tied balloons to my niece and am encouraging her to run up and down the ball room.

Madness ensues with me as it's main director.

From the party I run to the hotel and change into my dinner and bowling outfit. For this I put on my orange belt and navy Polo shirt with over sized pony logo also in orange. At dinner I somehow mange to shower myself in margarita when I flip my straw out of my glass. Ice even finds its way down the back of my neck. As we leave the restaurant, Lyle begins recruiting extras for bowling.

Me and my sister, Debbie, with a ball that just happens to be marked as, "Debbie".

Gwenda & Jaymi took the bait and joined us for bowling. That was their first mistake.

Robb, Lyle & Mickey show us what bowling is really all about. Beer.

After bowling we went back to the hotel where most everyone slowed down and went to bed. I changed one last time and Robb, Scott and I went out. That made for a total of 5 wardrobe changes for the day. And you wonder why I take so much luggage when I travel?

The next day was Mother's Day. We checked out of the hotel and made our way to the Bayside Cafe for brunch.

This is the electronics haul from my two nieces and one nephew. The boring old man looking phone in silver in the middle is mine. Those kids would never use something so plain. If only I'd have had more time I could have completed that last Super Mario level for my nephew on his Game Boy. He did give me my props by telling me that I was "really good".

Our final shot of the whole crew.

And then it was time to go home.

Since it was my mother's 70th birthday on Wednesday (can you believe how old she must have been when I was born!?) today we are celebrating her birthday with a party in the town where she lives. Perhaps details will follow when I get home.

In any case, here is the slide show/mini movie I've prepared for her party. I thought this might be a nice way to share it with people who couldn't make it to her party. It's just over ten minutes. Enjoy if you choose to.

I kid you not

Since I've been working on some photos for my mother's party I thought I would just air some of my dirty laundry right now. I was once a child. There I said it. And now here is the proof.

That's me in the middle. I love Christmas.

Here I am working the deep-V and clearly some lip and cheek stain. Either that or it was very cold outside and no one thought enough about me to bundle me up.

Our finest moment. Jesus gazes upon us and weeps for the future. That is all my sister's own hair. I threw a fit moments before this picture because when I was told I was going to be in the wedding I was promised a "monkey suit" and clearly this jacket had no tail like the monkeys had in the "Wizard of Oz." THEY BROUGHT ME THE WRONG SUIT!!!

Same church a few years later. Now we know why Jesus was crying all those years before.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's 70th birthday. I guess she doesn't mind me telling you that as she is having a party and told everyone that on her invitation. I guess she was pretty old when she had me because I am still so young, vigorous and unwrinkled.

When she was born, she was very young.

All dressed up to go to school... but did someone forget to put pants on? Oh wait, she has on a skirt...

She tells me she was dressed to go pick Raspberries for her summer job. I like to think I some from humble origins, like rodeo royalty.

My mom & dad at a nice Italian dinner at the Elk's club. I used to be so jealous of this picture because I thought they ate at the same restaurant as Lady & The Tramp.

My parents at our wedding.

So Happy Birthday Mom, I'm flying in to see you today!

I'll be there if The Price Is Right

Have I mentioned my extensive television work? I've just compiled my "reel" and wanted to post it here so everyone can see how the camera truly loves me. I'm not a featured player. But I do play an integral part. I'm wearing the bright blue shirt.

Next to me in the plaid shirt is my dad and just behind me in the floral is my mother.