Sunday, November 23, 2008

How old am I?

I'm 28. But that doesn't mean I'm too old to dress up in costumes and make stupid videos.

Last night there was some Rock Band fun in my living room. Hot Sundae was formed, bonus points if you get the reference. We made a few music videos in the process of taking over the world. Enjoy!

Sabotage
Kay on vocals | Christina on drums | Melissa on guitar |
Crystal as ghostly figure | Cinematography by Rob
Key moment: Rob discovers zoom and Crystal takes the elevator behind the armchair.




Ballroom Blitz
Melissa on vocals | Christina on drums | Kay on guitar | Cinematography by Rob
Key moment: Christina laughing behind her mask and Rob makes a special appearance accidentally during a fancy camera shot.




Say It Ain't So
Christina on vocals | Kay on drums | Melissa on guitar | Cinematography by Rob
Key Moment: Christina standing two inches away from the tv so she could see without her glasses and Kay sweatily tearing off the gorilla mask.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Preparing for the Holidays

It's creeping up quickly. Christmastime. Pretty soon I'll be pulling my grandmother's tree out of the garage and struggling with hanging lights. But I'm vowing to make this Christmas different. Come on, I'm the NICE girl, right? It would be out of character if I didn't try to do something socially responsible.

At Barnes and Noble the other day I picked up this book, 1001 Ways to Do Good. When paging through, one jumped out at me.

#361. Organize a Neighborhood Food Drive

Hmm. Well, I live in the perfect neighborhood. It's a small, confined suburban development filled with townhouses and condos. I could hit a lot of homes in a short amount of time. The more I started thinking about, the more I liked the idea. I could design little cards to leave at their doors...no, door hangers! And I could ask people to either bring their bags to my house or leave them on their doorstep at a particular date and time and I could go around the neighborhood picking them up. Easy! I mean, everyone must have some cans or boxes of something they aren't using in their pantry. Right? So I contacted the Food Bank of South Jersey, and they are super supportive of the idea! My goal is to do this the first week of December. I really hope all goes well. If it does, I'd love to make it a yearly tradition!

My other good thought was actually Rob's step mom's idea. She mentioned at the last family function that instead of buying gifts, she'd rather just chip in and buy a family a llama, something her mom continues to do with her friends. We chuckled at the idea, but I really think it's brilliant! Every Christmas, we painlessly stand in front of the grocery story gift card wall and select presents for Rob's family. And you know what? We get the same things in return. Not that I'm not grateful! But it seems a little pointless to give someone a $50 Lowes gift card when they give you the same exact thing right back.

So in that book, they mention Heifer International, where you can provide needy families with resources like cows, llamas, sheep, chicks, etc.


I'm going to print out the info and bring it along to Thanksgiving. I feel like I might be maturing. (Finally, at 28 years old!) Normally, I'm pretty greedy. I want gifts. Good ones. Lots of them. But really, for the first time this year, I don't want anything. And I can say that in all honesty. I always thought my parents were crazy when they said things like that, but maybe they are right. Maybe I got to the age when I have everything that I need. A wonderful husband, a good job, a beautiful home, a loving family. What else could I ask for?

I mean seriously. I already have Rock Band.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Introducing The Bean Freaks

I went to my parents' house last weekend for my mom's birthday. Saturday night we had a friendly family (me, my mom, and my dad) poker game and I happened to win the big pot...20 whole dollars. I gave the $20 to my mom who was headed to Atlantic City on Monday and asked her to make me a rich woman. I wrote "Melissa's Lucky $20" on the bill and handed it to her.

Monday afternoon my mother called my cell phone while I was at work. When I answered, I could hear the huge smile on her face. She popped my $20 into a video poker machine and won $500! 2000 quarters, to be exact. Since she did all the hard work, we're splitting the winnings. But that gave me more than enough to cover the purchase that I have been talking about for weeks!


Oh yes! I am the proud owner of Rock Band! I played for about three hours last night while Rob was out, and I guarantee that this will stop all productivity in my household. No eating. No cleaning. Just rocking! I sang a bunch, but that was really easy. So I switched to the guitar. On the medium level, I was doing pretty well, so I switched over to hard and nearly had an anxiety attack! I should have video taped it. Maybe tonight I'll try drums.

Oh, The Bean Freaks? That's my band name. They asked me so suddenly and that was the first thing that came to mind. Don't ask why. Yeah Bean Freaks!

Thursday, November 06, 2008

And so the obsession starts...

Yes, I bought my first feathered headband a week ago. Yes, I have already purchased another.

But get this! I wore my first one out last Friday and a friend of mine mentioned that his sister makes them. Come on. Now that's like feathered fate, right?? So I took a peek at her etsy shop. Her headbands are gorgeous! I couldn't resist and I bought one right away.

More feathers!


This one is much more "hey look at me!" so I may have to save it for nights and weekends. I don't know if my coworkers could appreciate the fabulousness of such an item. (Hey, side note. Fabulousness is a real word. Hmm.)

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

EDIT: More photos to share!

I'm editing this post to include all of the "submissions."

This is what happens when you post a photo of yourself on a graphic design forum. Photoshop war! They took my nice, little, happy "Vote here today" photo and turned it into...well, you'll see. I love how two of the designers had the exact same idea at the exact same time! Obviously I was good inspiration!

I enthusiastically voted!

I voted!

It was a tiny room with one voting booth. But it moved along swiftly and I was out in less than 15 minutes. Pretty sweet considering my Philadelphian coworkers had 2 hour long lines.

I hope you all (that live in this country) had a pleasant voting experience!

Monday, November 03, 2008

Post Halloween Blues

I love Halloween. Why? Because I'm all for any excuse to wear a wig and a ridiculous outfit. For example, last year's Björk swan dress. This year I went in a different direction. While in a thrift store a few weeks back, I saw a hideous fur coat on the rack. I thought it might be funny to douse it in red paint and play a PETA victim (though I know they don't do that....anymore). I got Rob to play along as an animal rights activist. I even rigged up the paint can with some red streamers for a high tech paint-tossing effect. Here's the result.

The Money Shot

I was a little concerned with the shortness and sparkliness of the sequined mini. I'm normally one against the skankification of Halloween, and I think quite a few people mistook me for a dead hooker. But all in all, I was satisfied.

It was a great Halloween weekend! We ended up hitting four different events, two on Friday, two on Saturday. I already can't wait for next year. We're toying with the idea of going as two wild and crazy guys, but I suppose we have a year to figure that out.

I hope you all had a splendid Halloween!