Dreading the Dance-Off

/4 Comments/in , /by

Let’s just get this out of the way…I’m not a dancer. Or a singer. Or talented in any form of performance art. Although I do find myself screaming along to Paramore songs in my car, I’ll only do it when I’m alone, to save the eardrums of the innocent. I acted in a few plays in high school, but I usually played the goofy friend or had the part that was basically just a human prop (“Girl Sitting at Cafe Table”). Once I was a member of a cast that acted out a skit in a high school pagent. It was the Mr. MHS pagent, and my contestant was a guy who did a mean Chris Farley impression, so his talent was acting out the skit about “the van down by the river.” I played the sarcastic female child, sitting on the couch with my arms folded. It deserved an Oscar, I was totally snubbed. At least my guy won the pagent.

[Sidenote: Trent and I flew back from Tennessee on Saturday, and while we were waiting for our luggage, Trent turned to me and said, “I think we went to high school with that guy.” And we spent 10 furious minutes trying to figure out who he was. Then, while awkwardly sitting in close quarters on the shuttle to the airport parking lot, Trent said, “Isn’t that Drew {insert last name here}?” Yes, yes it was. And not only was he in my class, but he was the aforementioned Mr. MHS contestant who could do a mean Chris Farely impression. And then I refused to say hi to him because I was embarrassed. Totally rational, I know.]

Since that fabulous acting debut, which reserved me quite the primary spot in our high school yearbook, I haven’t done much thespian work. My biggest performance since would have to be last year’s Cabaroke experience, in which Mikayla and Trent sang along to Christmas tunes and I bobbed my head in the background. So imagine my horror when I recieved an email from my mother-in-law, explaining that not only would we be playing enough board games this Christmas Eve to make my head explode, there would also be a karaoke machine AAANNNDDD a talent show. With a trophy. And people who have talent. And me.

So when I saw this video today on another site, I vowed to participate fully in said talent show (after several glasses of wine). Because once they see me in all my fancy pants glory, I will never have to worry about exhibiting talent again. It was like looking in a mirror to see what everyone else sees when I claim I can breakdance.

What a way to end my storied performance career.

Thankful

/0 Comments/in , /by

As I do most holiday weeks, I’m taking this week off from the blog to focus on digesting turkey and pie and hanging out with the family. Even though we swore there was no way we were going to travel after last year’s holiday world tour, we broke down again and decided the hell of plane rides with the toddler are worth it to see our wonderful families. We love them. Trust me, if you’ve ever seen Lu on an airplane, you’d realize just how much we love them. Lordy.

And now, to send you off for a horrid seven days without my constant, nagging commentary, a few things I’m thankful for this year:

1. I’m thankful I had this weekend at home, alone with Lu. We needed it after almost three months of constant activity and major life adjustments. Lu has officially mastered snuggling, and damn, it is sweet.

2. I’m thankful I completed my Christmas Gift Exchange letters, as I was afraid they’d eat me alive. Note to self: When husband volunteers you as organizer for his extended family’s gift exchange, punch him in the nose.

3. I’m thankful I decided to do Thanksgiving cards instead of Christmas cards this year. I put them in the mail today and I shall never think about them again.

T-Giving Card

4. I am thankful for MOO, where I got some great little change of address cards to stick in with my Thanksgiving cards. They were the only way I could send photos of myself with a mustache on to my family members who refuse to use computers. Happy holidays!

5. I am thankful for all of my friends, especially (in no particular order)

Mara – for obsessing over silly things with me
Hayley – for joining the baby mama club last week
Abbie – for fart jokes
Theresa – for being a hipster
Amber – for her eye rolling
Lane – for laughing her ass off during Twilight and buying me beers afterward to soften the blow of the awfulness of that movie
Nicole – for moving to KC next May
Inger – for buying me things from IKEA and then shipping them to me, you are effing awesome!
Mikayla – for being so sweet, and taking care of Lucy all the time so I can regain some sanity, I owe you many boxes of wine

6. I am thankful for the soundtrack to the new Twilight movie, which is helping me forget how awful the movie was. Trust me, it’s horrid. Don’t go see it, just enjoy the books and stay away from the movie theater.

But if you must go, invite me to come with you, because I want to give it a second chance. Because I may have just thought it was so bad due to the screaming teenagers in the theater with me. And the fact that vampire movies, let’s face it, are cheesy. Vampire books, on the other hand, are sexy. Right? Crap, I don’t know…

Anyway, I’ll burn you a copy of the soundtrack, because it’s pretty rad, and it will ease the pain of hearing “Edward” overact and watching “Jasper” do his Zoolander impression throughout the entire two hours. Honestly, the music in the movie was wonderful, now if only the actors would stop talking!!!

See what I mean?

7. I’m thankful for my family (both in and out-laws). Without them, I’d never be where I am. Not even close.

8. I’m thankful I somehow ended up in a place in my life where I could afford to buy a home for my family. And that my dog has a whole, huge backyard to poop in.

9. I’m thankful for these two monkeys:

Runaway

Dad

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

For the Woman That Has Everything

/1 Comment/in , /by

In late October, Trent’s paternal grandmother turned 80 years old. This past summer, we spent a week with the entire family in Colorado to celebrate the big birthday, but we didn’t give her a gift, as we figured we’d wait until her actual birthday. Fast forward two months and, oh dear, now what do we do?!

All of my grandparents either passed away before I was born or when I was pretty young, so I’m never quite sure how to navigate the whole “grandmother” thing. Trent’s grandma is quite fiesty, very active (um, she flies airplanes with her husband on a monthly basis) and has no room for “stuff.” OK, now what do I get for her??? Personally, I think this should be Trent’s problem, but let’s be honest, boys don’t do gifts.

While perusing my favorite shopping website, I did a search for vintage items with the tag “1928,” the year Trent’s grandmother was born. I happened to come upon a cookbook, in relatively good condition, copyrighted 1928. I also found a woman who searches through old newspapers, cuts out kitchy articles, and sells them. I bought both items and waited patiently for them to arrive….very patiently, as one shipped a bit late (due to some miscommunication, but both sellers were FABULOUS and I totally recommend them).

The book finally got here a week or so ago and I set to work jazzing it up for Trent’s grandmother. It was in amazing shape, except for the cover, which was a bit wrecked from wear and tear. I decided to recover the book…but a crafty Martha Stewart I am not. Here’s what we ended up with:

Book

I bought some fun paper that went with the original cover color at Paper Source, then affixed it to the cover with book binding glue. If I was really crafty, I would have removed the cover completely and made a new one, making it look a bit more professional…but I’m not, so this will have to do.

Map

The inside covers had maps of the US with food all over them.

Southern Cooking

That’s the lady that wrote the book. Gotta love a giant collar/broach combo. Trent’s grandma lives in Tennessee, so I thought she’d like the whole “Southern Cooking” thing.

Cocktails

Ha! Immaturity, 1920’s style. Love it!

News

Here is a picture (albeit, not a great one) of one of the newspaper articles I got with the book. I stuck them inside, marking some fun recipes.

Present

All wrapped up and ready to go! I sent it off today (only a month late…), hopefully she’ll enjoy it.

Thus ends the only ever edition of Crazybananas Goes Crafting. Tomorrow I’ll write about something more normal. I promise.

In the meantime

/2 Comments/in , , , /by

It feels so strange to be writing something for this site, knowing I now have a new president. Throughout the last few months, I was told by many people, those who agree and disagree with me, to not take the whole political process so personally. To not let it affect my daily life. To know that all I can do is vote and then move on, and whoever wins, wins.

After Tuesday, I couldn’t disagree with that more. This process was very personal to me. Deciding who will lead my country in to the future is an important decision. Choosing the person who will pave the way for my daughter’s generation…yup, that’s personal to me. Realizing that the first president she’ll remember is Barack Obama…so very personal.

So to all of you who read this site the last few weeks (months) and had to deal with my political rants, I commend you. I can’t apologize for it, because I am surely not sorry. It’s not the first time I’ve disagreed with readers and it won’t be the last. Just know I have the utmost respect for anyone who participated in the electoral process. Everyone who wrote about a candidate, knocked on doors, made phone calls, donated funds, voted, attended rallies and put a sign in their yard. No matter whose side you were on, now is the time for all of us to come together as Americans and forge a new future for our kids, nieces, nephews and selves.

OK, I’m done for a while, I promise.

Want to see something fun!? Me too. Throughout all of this election madness, I completely forgot to write about Halloween! This year Lu decided to be a Carebear, as she is a bit obsessed with them, despite the fact that they creep me out. She was the one with the rainbow on it’s tummy, and I spent half the night explaining to people that I had no idea which bear she was, I just know she’s the one with the rainbow on her tummy. (OK, I just looked it up, apparently she’s Cheer Bear. Thank God for wikipedia.)

Carebear

We went to my sister’s house, as I figured Lucy would do better trick or treating if she was with her cousins. My niece, Sloan, has complete control over Lu, as Lu idolizes her, so it worked out well. Sloan was a zombie cheerleader, which made me happy because I could tell my sister didn’t love it. It cracks me up when kids start disagreeing with parents, although I’m sure that will come back and bite me in the ass in a couple of years.

Zombie Cheerleader

I dressed up as Darth Vader, as the mask was $4.99 and I was “required” to wear a costume to work. Turns out my nephews where two characters from Star Wars as well, we made quite the group.

Darth + the Fetts

Here’s a video of part of the night. Trent noted while watching this that Lucy seems to have my sense of balance. True, but at least she’ll always know how to get back up.


Halloween 2008 from Megan on Vimeo.

And when she gets back up, she knows there’s a fun size package of M&M’s in it for her. Like mother, like daughter.

{And yes, I know my giant butt is what the video froze on as a starting icon. I blame Trent. And apologize to you.}

In Case You Were Wondering Why

/3 Comments/in , /by

My dad is not a big talker. He doesn’t wax poetic about the past and he rarely pulls out a symbolic euphemism. I hardly ever hear him talk about his personal history, although he will go on for hours about the history of the world. It’s hard for me to see what he’s done in his life and find ways to connect. He’s a microbiologist who’s studied organisms in space. He’s a former college basketball star, who almost gave up school to go to the major leagues to play baseball. He’s a poor city kid, oldest of six, who supported his family financially as a teenager while his former war-hero father gambled away the family funds. His life is an incredible story, but not very relatable to his children, all of whom grew up with all the things they could ever need or want. He gave us everything, and in turn, we find it difficult to understand him.

As we stood in line at the Obama rally a few weeks ago, my dad started talking about political battles past. He remembered voting for the independent candidate the year Reagan won, and not being able to forgive himself. He talked of the sixties, when he had two kids he was raising in a world very similar to the one I’m raising my daughter in now. A country living in fear, beginning to rise up and creativity exploding all around.

He talked about the day my sister was born. April 4, 1968. How surreal it was, to step out of the hospital and see the chaos around him. In Philadelphia, the news that Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. had been killed had just broken. He said he would never forget that moment. Pure joy on one hand, and absolute sadness on the other. He was afraid the country wouldn’t recover. So much had been gained, and now, so much had been lost. And he had a daughter to raise in that mess.

Watching my dad support Barack Obama has been one of the most enlightening things I’ve ever experienced. Seeing him believe in something so strongly, feeding off of his optimism, discussing all of the issues, debating and thinking. How will we change this world? How will we make it better? What can we do to bring a country, that has been so divided, to one common purpose?

I did my part today. Did you?

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. – Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural address (via Sweet Juniper)

I am ready. I have done all I can. I hope my country steps out of the darkness today, but if not, we must continue to fight. The world did not change with one voice, but with the voices of many.

Two voting stories I think you should read:

Volunteer

I’ve Got a Box of Franzia Ready Either Way

If you are having ANY problems at all voting today, if anyone tries to give you a provisional ballot, if you are turned away at the polls or see any fliers or get any calls with misleading information tomorrow please, please, PLEASE call 1-877 OUR VOTE or text your question to RTVOTE. This is not some wacky conspiracy theory – there have already been 80,000 complaints made about voting problems.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...