Talent

As you may have read, I coordinated the talent show at the girls' elementary school this year. I found out about my ascension to the throne about a month before the show was supposed to happen. It seems that when you say you'll be a member of the committee and no one else volunteers to be on the committee, you actually get to be the coordinator.

In previous years the previews had to held at a time when a school administrator was available to vet the acts and make sure no one was wearing spaghetti straps or singing songs about alcohol, but when I talked to the principal about open dates, she told me that she TRUSTED ME to handle it by myself. Oh. My. Gravy.

 So, that's how it happened. I did eventually get some help from PTA members and my girl scout troop and my husband (who had no choice) and I have to say that while it was a lot of work and somewhat nerve-wracking (one of the kids decided to do his own little comedy act on stage when he was supposed to be singing....) it ended well and that is all that matters.

Lizzie stopped piano lessons (insert huge sob here) in September and she couldn't get a song together in a month to be in the show and she didn't want to participate anyway. Well, the joke was on her because since I was the coordinator and the only person at the try-outs, and Rob was unavailable to stay home, she ended up going to every single try-out and every single rehearsal. And then I made her put names on the performers' chairs on the night of the show.

Hannah, on the other hand, had a cold but previewed one of this year's pageant songs. I went back and forth on this choice for the pageant, but she loves it, so I let her sing it. Here's a youtube video from the show of Hannah singing "On My Own" from Les Miserables. She actually sang the second verse first and then again the second time. I was worried it would throw her off, but she said she didn't even really notice she'd done that. I had technical difficulties so a friend of mine videoed this on her phone and posted it to youtube for me.



I also asked my Girl Scout Troop to do the decorations so they colored in the letters for the school, and then I bought a huge pack of stars, stuck some stickers on them and strung them in twos and threes. On the night of the show I had some help, so I didn't have to climb the ladder to hang the stuff up. So no ambulance was needed.

Here's a picture of my best helper though. Rob was very busy that week, but he came through in the clutch and was my stage manager. YAY!!!

And here's a closeup of Hannah in her outfit. Unfortunately soon after this picture was taken I decided to dye this green and ended up ruining the dress (which did not take the dye at all, but did get all wrinkly and ripped) so we ended up getting her a peasant girl outfit that she'll wear in the pageant.

 I have already been asked to coordinate again next year and I said absolutely not, no way no how okay. But the good news is that I know about it already so it won't be as hectic. Really. I'm sure of it. I think. I hope.

Girl Scouts

(See the post below this one for a Way Back post!)

One of the things that has kept me busy (for the last four years!) has been leading Hannah and Lizzie's girl scout troop. I started with about 20 girls in Brownies, but we've settled into 14 girls, which is much more manageable! I'm also the program director for our local service unit (all the troops in the OJR school district) so I get to try and come up with interesting things for my troop to do, but also coordinate the activities of the service unit.
So here are a couple of things we've been doing -- which mostly involves being silly:

We also sold a bunch of girl scout cookies, so we are celebrating (well, they are!) by going to Bounce U and staying overnight. Luckily (and I mean that from the bottom of my heart!) parent don't have to pay for the sleepover/bounce experience so I've got several moms going, too.

We also participated in a dance a thon to raise money and donated item for a local little girl who is very ill. Here's Hannah at the dance a thon:

And here are Lizzie and her bestie Keira at the dance. This is the look Lizzie gave me when she saw me out on the dance floor with my walker. Priceless!!

We also participated in a service project making Quillows for Kyle's Quillows, which donates them to children with cancer or other diseases that require hospitalizations. Much to my surprise both Hannah and Lizzie were able to pin and sew the quillows. At home I still worry about them when they've got scissors!

Here's Hannah pinning one of the patterns:

 And Lizzie working one of the sergers. My mother would be very impressed since my one and only childhood sewing project consisted of a skirt that took about 4 months and 47 yards of material to complete.

This service project was part of a sister troop's Bronze Award and I think by the time they were all done nearly 50 quillows were made!

Way Back!

A terrible thing happened ... my scanner stopped working. Which makes blogging much more difficult. Lots of other things have been going on, too, so in the next day or two (promise, Aunt Brenda!) I'll have a couple of posts up.

But first, since I managed to fix my scanner (techie that I am!) I thought I'd end my blog break with a Way Back post with TWO photos.

My Great Aunt Marion was my grandmother's (Garrity) sister. She was a very nice lady, although I didn't know her well. She came to visit a few times and I remember her as being a little chubby, a little funny and really quite nice. She had a high-pitched laugh and a twinkle in her eye.

But what I remember most about Aunt Marion is that one day she sat me down and told me how much I reminded her of herself. "You and your sister (Aunt Anonymous) remind me of your grandmother and me," she said.

I was horrified because I had no intention to grow old and chubby no matter how nice and friendly and funny she was. I was all of 12 at the time and not at all ready to be compared to a senior citizen, although I totally agreed Aunt Anonymous would one day grow old like grandma.

So here's the first picture ... I believe that it captures their personalities quite well. Grandma is on the left, Aunt Marion is on the right. As you can see, Grandma is quite regal and ladylike. Aunt Marion, is well, kind of a goofy hippie (although don't we all seriously covet that outfit she's wearing?) However, I wasn't willing to go so far as to say that Aunt A and I were their doubles...

...Until I came across THIS family picture of the Garrity clan as children. AND, as you can see, Aunt Anonymous is a very regal and ladylike 9-year-old and I am, well, a kind of goofy hippie 8-year-old. So there you have it...
(PS: The others in the picture are my sisters Terry, in front, and Beanie, the baby on the right, and my brother T.A.)