saturday, september 20, 2008 - senior recital part I

Ok, my senior recital!! Man was it a crazy weekend. There were so many things I had to do...such as get cups and napkins and platters, not to mention what I was going to do about food. I'd like to say I was a complete wreck, but somehow I remained very calm and somewhat less nervous than I would have originally thought. Nevertheless, here is a recounting of my weekend.

I woke up Friday morning in the usual routine...hitting the snooze button on BOTH of my alarm clocks for like an hour before I am awake enough to realize I should get up (I have now decided to devote an entire chapter to my sleeping habits. You would laugh). So I rolled out of bed, not bothering to shower, and went to work at 9am. I get home by 11am, drop my stuff off, and get in my car to proceed to run all the errands I had been putting off for this weekend. After making sure I didn't need gas and stopping into the bank to deposit some checks, I headed over to the Dollar General, which happened to be right next door on the strip. I went in knowing that I could get a white tablecloth for, guess how much, a dollar. As i pulled it off the rack in the party section, I noticed the napkins. I am a sucker for arranging and wanting colors to match and be thematic. So I started looking at different colored plates and napkins. I already had some at home, but black would look classy for a music recital, i thought. This is my downfall....I can't make up my mind about things very fast. I probably stood there in the party aisle for like 10 minutes trying to decide to get colored plates and napkins. I finally decided that after I would decide while I was running other errands and come back later. So I went around to the other side of the store where I happened to see some excellent cheap platters, two smaller silver and two large, round and clear. They would be perfect for putting cupcakes and fruit on (which is what I had decided to make). I also picked up some wood polishing cloths. I thought I could find some better napkins at Hobby Lobby, like something bright and totally crazy or funny that would say a little about me. I found these cute napkins of jeans and bandana pattern, with Texas Rodeo printed on them. I resisted buying them.

I didn't like how my dress was not very flattering in the waist and thought I could make it look better if I tacked the back in a little. So I looked for something to use that would be temporary at both hobby lobby and Joanns, but found nothing. I decided to resort to earring studs if I really wanted to mess with it later.

Next, I went over to the mall to look for a necklace. I didn't have anything really fancy that matched the style of my dress, and claires usually have sets of matching earrings and necklaces. I also wanted to find some way to put my hair up, since it is now short and I wanted to do something different than usual and make it look fancy. The lady at Claires was really helpful, even doing up my hair right there in the store using various hair accessories that were there. It was pretty cool, and I have a new way to wear my hair (esp. when its dirty and I don't feel like completely washing and drying it). I wasn't sure, so I went to Target and Sally Beauty supply to see if they had anything better, though I ended up getting some velcro rollers, which I love!! But going back to Claires and bought gator clips in varying sizes, the big one silver and the small ones bold pink. I also found the perfect jewelry for my dress. Stopping at Aunt Annie's on the way out, I headed next to Party City to search for napkins and punch cups. The cups were easy enough to find, but they had so many different themes napkins there I didn't know what to do with myself. I started down one aisle though and came across the PERFECT napkins. It was as if light from heaven were shining down upon them (though it could have been the bright flourecent light right above my head too). Printed in that slightly fuzzy way in which most napkins are printed, was a picture of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, two of the newest My Little Ponies. They were perfect for a night devoted to ME. I bought them. (Note to self--write a chapter on My Little Pony.)

Happily checking out, I headed to Walmart to buy my cupcake mix. My favorite cupcakes are Betty Crocker's Rainbow Chip, complete with Rainbow Chip iceing. I could eat that stuff out of the jar...and I do. Becuase I didn't want to seem selfish, I also bought a box of chocolate. After that, I went to the fruit section. I couldn't decide what to get besides strawberries, but i wanted the colors to contrast nicely, so something green. I called my BF to ascertain her opinion, and we both decided that grapes would be a better choice than apples, which would turn brown. I headed home, it being about 4 in the afternoon by this point (I am terrible at running errands, as I have mentioned). I got home and anxiously awaited for when my family would show up, as they were getting to Muncie around 6. Well, finally they gave me a call saying they were in town. I gave them the directions to my house. They parked in the back where my car was, and came around to the front porch, where I was. But the person who rounded the corner first was not either of the two ppl I was expecting. It was my 15-year-old sister Aly!! Although, i was not surprised to see her at all, since she was the only one out of the four of us still living at home, I figured in the back of my head that mom and dad would bring her. The next person, however, was not mom or dad either. It was Grandma!! I have to admit, I was completely surprised to see her there, and I got over the shock enough to be excited and hugged her. Mom and Dad came around next. I was so touched that they all came to see me play, even though now it sometimes seems silly. All that attention for 1 1/2 hours of playing....seems kind of anticlimactic sometimes when I think about it, though knowing at the same time that this is a major stepping stone for me. So we all went out to eat at Red Lobsters, though there was some indecision on my part between that or Texas Road House. To make a long story not as long, the cheddar bay busquits were AMAZING!!!