Happy Gifting

Growing up I took acting lessons at the local theatre.  I liked  being in plays and dressing up in costumes, but we weren't die hard about it.  My mom was never the Toddlers and Tiaras type.  She would take me to/from class, help me memorize lines at home, and watch my end of semester plays.  Pretty standard mom stuff really...no voodoo dolls for the other kids or plots of revenge on the smother mothers back stage. 

Initially, I went to these classes because my sister (3 years older) did and I followed suit.  She always got the lead because she could not only act, but sing.  I honestly thought my voice sounded exactly like her.  I had all the confidence in the world at auditions.  I would belt out the song "Daisy" as loud as I could because louder meant better, right? WRONG!  I was horrible!  I could have definitely qualified for American Idol's worst auditions.  I was (and still am) completely tone deaf!  In my head, I sounded fabulous! 

My mom said it was always a difficult thing to tell my sister she got a part in the play, but I didn't.  Pretty big cop out by the theatre to call the house and make my mom do the dirty work, but show business is cut-throat, even at the local youth theatre in Fort Worth.  I cried many tears over these lost parts.  I recently found an apology note I typed (yes, using an actual typewriter) to my sister because I was mad she got the part and I didn't.

In case you are having trouble reading it (I can't see why), it says, "DAER SISTER, CONGRAGLASHANS IAM SO SORRY THAT I WAS SUCH A BRAT PLAESE FORGIVE ME PLEASE I HOPE YOU DO GOOD AS A SNO BUNNY LOVE J."  My mom hand wrote on the letter what had happened because I think she knew we would not be able to make heads or tails of this in the future: "Janann wrote to sister Nov 19, 1989 after sister got the part in Frosty the Snowman and she didn't."


I feel sorry for for the 7-year old me, well, for a lot of reasons.

1. I clearly did not know how to spell or punctuate.
2. I could not load the paper into the typewriter correctly.  
3. For feeling such rejection at such a young age.  

In the long run, I think it was a good lesson to learn I wasn't talented in that department early before I demanded my entire family move to Hollywood to pursue my acting career.  (By the way, I am pretty sure my sister forgave me after receiving this note.  How could she not sympathize with her untalented, tone deaf sister who was clearly not the sharpest crayon in the box.  Plus, I am pretty sure the letter is stained with tear marks...so sad!!!)


I have mourned the loss of my acting career and accepted the fact this was left best for my sister.  Acting classes proved to be a very poor investment.  Unfortunately for me,  as I have gotten older, acting comes into play all the time.  Pretending to listen in class, acting like you know what you are talking about at your first job, and gift opening in front of a group are all things that require advanced acting skills and improv.  Not shocking given my acting background, but I am the all-time worst gift opener in crowds!  I can't fake that I like something.  For my baby shower, we displayed unwrapped gifts so I would not have to open them.  During our engagement, Special K and I didn't have any showers, only engagement parties with no gifts.  It gives me so much anxiety thinking about opening gifts in front of a crowd.  

I might be the world's worst gift receiver (and singer), but I am great at gift giving!  When I find the perfect gift for someone else, it truly makes me happy!  I would like to implement a new series today, Happy Gifting, to follow up on "Can You Improve a Classic?" post.  At this stage in life it is so hard to buy expensive gifts for all the different weddings, birthdays, showers, house warming, etc..., so I will periodically post unique baby gifts under $40, but with a higher perceived value (WOW!  I am pretty sure that sentence was not grammatically correct...I am afraid the 7 year old me is haunting the present day me for posting that letter).  I hope I give you the happiness of finding the perfect gift for the new baby in your life.

Today's gift:  A friend gave L a little Polo romper that I loved and hated the day when she grew out of it.  I did some research for a replacement and found out Ralph Lauren has a huge line of baby polos. 

All adorable, but this is no ordinary line!  It is called "Create Your Own Collection."  They let you customize the monogram.  You can choose between outfit style, outfit color, monogram (horse or initials), monogram color, and monogram style (if using initials).  Just a few examples below...

Monogramming makes gifts seem so much more personal.  The best news is this entire line is $35 or less including the customization!  Happy monogramming!  What do you think?