A Four-Foot Prune!

Continuing in the vein of what we learn from the Muppets, we will focus, ironically, on a Muppet who is dedicated to learning. We don't know where Dr. Bunsen Honeydew earned his doctorate ... although, for all we know, his first name could be Dr. But I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, despite his numerous failed attempts to create an invention that will truly better mankind. But you can't fault a guy for trying.


In the grand tradition of Muppets, Bunsen Honeydew's inventions aren't within the confines of convention. As proved by the backfiring results of such experiments as edible paper clips and a machine that can turn gold into cottage cheese (can you try it the other way around, dr.?), maybe Dr. Honeydew could stand some more formal education. But while he's not in school, he continues learning and education, whichever way he wants to focus his efforts. Changes in circumstance make no difference, either. In Muppet Labs or an old ghost town (a la The Muppet Movie), Bunsen makes use of his surroundings to push boundaries of invention. And every once in a while, his seemingly useless innovations surprise you and really come in handy, such as Insta-Grow Pills. For those of you not in the know, just imagine to yourself ... a forty-foot-tall Animal.

So, for all of us who have finished formal education (yay!!!), we can follow the doctor's example by carrying on with our personal instruction. I think as long as we don't subject hapless assistants to mortifying and life-threatening research, we're good to go.


-Me

"Oh, I'm so nervous. If I'm not funny, I won't be able to live with myself." -Fozzie "Well, then you'll have to get another apartment, won't you?" -Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

I'm Going to Go Back There Some Day

As most everybody who knows me remotely well is aware, I am a fan of the Muppets. It's true. I specialize in random, useless facts, and the Muppets are just some creations about which I know quite a bit. My friend Jay told me the other day that I ought to write a book about Muppets. He even gave me a possible title, but quite frankly I can't remember what it is. That's all right. It was enough to inspire me to make the following decision. I won't be publishing (or writing, for that matter) a book about the Muppets, but I intend, tongue slightly in cheek, to write a Muppets series in my blog. Each post will focus on a specific Muppet and a chief lesson we can learn from him or her. (mainly him, because i can only think of two female muppets.) I may interrupt this Muppet series with posts about my actual life, but for now, I'm being silly and taking a risk, which brings us to the first Muppet I would like to focus on ...

The Great Gonzo. (also known as Gonzo the Great)


Whether he's dancing a flamenco with a cheese or demolishing an automobile to the music of The Anvil Chorus, Gonzo's a true original. A daredevil. An artist. And he wears that hat proudly. Gonzo takes plenty of risks, despite audience and fellow-Muppet discouragement. When someone is needed to take a waterski jump through a ring of fire, Gonzo is your Whatever. Gonzo should be the patron saint of Ridiculous Endeavors, but here's the important ingredient in his mania: he's not afraid. No, sir. He doesn't let the tide of antagonism stop him from wondering about and trying out the impossible. As he ponders in a hot air balloon at the beginning of The Great Muppet Caper, "I'd like to try it without the balloon." (to which kermit humorously and realistically observes, "What? Plummeting? I suppose you could try it once.")

Officially Labelled

But not only does he try out these outrageous tricks and trades, he has the integrity to believe in and stick to them, rather than letting the opposition turn him into a sheep. He enthusiastically yells to those nay-sayers, "Yokels! Rubes! What do you know about great art?" He takes pride in his work, albeit in his own bizarre way of going about it. "Photography's an art. You gotta have the right film, you gotta have the right exposure, and you gotta scream just before they get the food to their mouth." (photography, by the way, is probably the most normal hobby gonzo ever participated in.)

Our lovable, furry Whatever teaches us that no matter our dream, no matter the road we take to get there, even if it's all the way to Bombay to become a movie star, it's worth the risks and we should take joy in the adventure, just as Gonzo takes joy in death-defying stunts and off-kilter performance art.

-Me

"Now most of all I know that I am happy to be me." -Gonzo the Great, The Wishing Song

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes; Turn and Face the Strain

Lots of changes happening in my little corner of the world this last week. Wow! It's all pretty exciting, ranging from the very unimportant (getting a costco membership) to the life-changing (esther getting engaged!). We'll start with unimportant and go from there.

According to Sylvia, me getting a Costco membership means I'm a real adult. And while I think it's pretty darn cool that I finally broke down and can walk into Costco and buy something without following somebody else around like a puppy, I'm not certain that it says "real adult". At 25, I still don't think of myself as a real adult, whatever the heck that means. If/when I get married, will I think I'm a real adult? If/when I have children, will I think I'm a real adult? If I don't think of myself as one yet, maybe I'd better start getting myself there. Hmm. At least a Costco membership is a step in the right direction. (yay!!)

Okay, so it's not so much my life changing with Esther getting engaged, but her life is definitely changing, and it's pretty dang exciting. And quick, considering she's getting married in a month!!! Wow! So I get to put together a bridal shower for her and hope that we don't do anything to really embarrass her. She, Becky, and I went shopping yesterday for some extra little essentials she needs (not the dress; she already got that, but we got to see it . . . pretty!), and I gotta say -- it's a good thing she's excited, because trying to plan a wedding in a month's time has got to be stressful. Note to self: don't try it. (although i can definitely understand the advantages a quick engagement has to offer. hmm. but let's not get ahead of ourselves. i need a man first.)

Other recent events: Went to Becky's surprise birthday party on Sunday, and Noah was successful in actually surprising Becky with it, so that's fun. A miracle happened and this awesome girl in my ward, Whitney, volunteered to play for the ward choir for our Easter song, so I didn't even have to specifically ask anyone! (my pianist just transferred wards...) I was a winner once more at a work spirit event on Friday, with my Irish flag sugar cookies. The prize? A bag of cereal. Yum. And last but not least, I managed to drop from first place in our family Tournament Challenge to 22nd, so it was a good thing I got in my gloating time while I had the chance, although most of us got hurt by the Kansas upset. Life goes on.

-Me

"I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once." -Jennifer Unlimited

One Day More ...

... until the Madness begins. Yes, everyone, it's that time of year again! Yesterday was the first day I went outside and sat in a park and read a book without feeling like I was going to freeze my tush. Oh, the return of spring always makes me happy. I'm reminded of Bambi when everything starts growing again and everybody gets all lovey-dovey and engaged and married and all that stuff. Twitterpated is right, Friend Owl. However, spring always brings on an event (or series of events, since it lasts a few weeks) that seems to deny all that love we should be feeling. At least, it does in the Kelly family. That's right, everyone. I capitalized Madness on purpose! March Madness is here, much to combined delight and chagrin of my family.

Now, I have not paid any attention at all to college basketball this year, despite my access to a television and espn (gasp! horror! megan doesn't get her nightly sportscenter fixes like every male in her family?) and my next-door neighbors. However, this year I finally branched out and made picks for a bracket so that I, too, could participate in this year's Tournament Challenge with the rest of the Kelly Klan. The real pull of joining up is simply to see everybody's trash talk on the page, mocking picks and rubbing losses in the faces of those who are steadily drifting to the bottom (which i guarantee will be me). In fact, my dad and I have exchanged a couple of text messages in which I have derided his hopes of being the first two-time winner. Where's the love?

All I can say in explanation of my family is that, while we are passionate about silly things like basketball (oh, i'm going to get it for calling basketball "silly) and while we can individually be quite emotional and loud about it, we are not an overly sentimental group. The love's there, but we usually express it by quoting movies and recapping sports moments together. Refer to last year's (almost to the day) post about just the Jensens and football. Really. This is what my family gets into. So, it ought to be an interesting couple of weeks. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing the brackets of those with futile hopes that BYU will actually make it past the first round (again, i am one of those). Bring it on!

-Me

"In accordance with our principles of free enterprise and healthy competition, I'm going to ask you two to fight to the death for it." -Monty Python

Here She Comes, Just a-Walking Down the Street

This is a shock to my mother and most friends who attempted to go shopping with me (key word: attempt) in middle and high school . . . and most of college. I actually kind of like clothes shopping now! Okay, I have my moments, like when I'm winding down from a night of eating too much Indian food and I don't really want to hear the cashier flirting with the customer in front me because she happens to have a French accent. But the real fun is wearing the clothes I've bought and feeling like I look pretty darn good (and friends telling me so, validating my personal opinion helps, too).

So, yes. I took these pictures just so you could see them here. How weird of me. But Mom wanted to see the skirt (even though you can't see the whole thing . . . sorry, mom) and Sylvia wanted to see the shoes.

I'm way excited about the skirt. Why? Because it's a size 10!!! My face definitely doesn't prove my size-10-ness, so you may not believe it, but it's true. When the saleswoman at Express handed this over the changing door to me, saying she'd guessed my size at a 10, I seriously said, "Well, that's ambitious." But it fit and it TOTALLY made my day. I had to buy it just to say I own a size 10 in something. This is a big deal, people. Really. So here's how I look in it (plus the cute little jacket i bought at kohl's on friday night . . . yay for cheap prices at kohl's!).

Okay, I pretty much despise how my face looks unnaturally chubby in this picture, but it was the best one of the skirt/jacket combo. (and yes, i know i need a haircut.)

And on the same trend, I bought these awesome shoes back in DC last May, and I adore them. I don't find much of a chance to wear them, but when I do, I feel a combination of the following two pictures:


So here they are, both off and on.


Needless to say, I feel pretty dang cool when I wear these. Maybe I shouldn't adore inanimate objects as much as I do these particular items of clothing, but sometimes it's the little things in life that make it a little extra sweet. Or in the case of my size-10 skirt and tango heels, a little extra awesome!

-Me

"I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch." -Gilda Radner

Thank You For Being a Friend

There are some things in this life that will never change: my hatred of pickles, the days getting shorter during the winter, and Esther's view of Indian food as comfort food. Close to a month ago, she and I were chatting and out of the blue, she said, "So, Megan, the next time you're in the mood for Indian food, I'll tag along with you." Very sneaky, Esther, making me think it was actually my idea. So when she suggested we go to dinner last night, I figured we would go and have Indian food. She, however, was unsure of whether or not I had remembered her earlier hint (to which i respond, "Not remember? It's me, of all people!"), so when she asked me where we should go eat, I told her, "I thought we were having Indian food. Was I wrong?" She was very happy that was my response. And, even though I always eat too much when we go to India Palace or Bombay House (last night was india palace), I was happy that it was my response, as well.

Another thing that seems to be a constant in life is how Esther and I overlap. Before we met up for dinner, I was running errands, one of which was visiting the verizon store and (finally) getting my upgrade. When I showed my new phone to Esther, she pulled hers out that she got about a month ago, and lo and behold, it was the same phone! I remembered her showing me her new phone when she first got it, but I didn't realize it was the same one I picked. So then we had a nice discussion of all the things we seem to own in common . . . certain movies, books, clothes (not the same size, obviously), and now even our phones! We don't even live together any more and this happens! (although if we did still live together, i probably would have remembered what her phone was and picked a different one for myself.) I guess it just goes to show that great minds think alike . . . and so do ours.

from last winter . . . we went to a wedding reception and ended up dressing alike
NOT on purpose
-sigh-

-Me

"It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time." -Tallulah Bankhead

Our Lives Are Made in These Small Hours

I've got a lot of people to be praying for this week. Makes you realize that life is precious. It really is. Treasure the people you love. And keep in touch with them to let them know you love them. I'm thinking of you, G-ma, Ashley, Mike, Lisa C.'s mom. I'm definitely keeping all of you and your loved ones in my prayers. I know, you're probably all shocked that I started out with something not-sarcastic or non-light-hearted, but this is important to remember, so there goes my shout-out.

In other news, I am way excited . . . in fact, most likely entirely too excited . . . about a certain building that has been under construction close by my place. I've been wondering what exactly is going to be put there where people are building and such, but yesterday, turning onto 8th north, I saw the sign! (sing it with me, "i opened up my eyes . . .") And it was a . . . -drumroll-


WINCO!!!!!!!!

For those of you not indoctrinated into the glory that is WinCo, let me shed some light. It is a low-price supermarket that is way awesome. That is very little light, and doesn't begin to describe how mucho bueno it is, but it is a great and wonderful option for low-price grocery shoppers who don't want to deal with the insanity that is the Orem Wal-Mart. There are several WinCos in Oregon, which is how I know what it is in the first place. Oh, the times I tagged along with Mom when she took her trips to Costco and WinCo. So I'm uber-pumped that there's one being built about a minute away from where I live. Yes, the simple pleasures. When does it open, when does it open?!?!?

Stake conference this weekend. It's gonna be good. And I'm going to hope and pray that the stake choir does well. -crosses fingers- Let's do Jenny proud, guys!

-Me

"I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex." -Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray