You’ve heard about the mustache craze, right? I’d say it’s even more popular than the bizarre trend of feather hair extensions, which is apparently all the rage with the cool kids. As one who’s typically firmly on the outside looking in when it comes to trends and crazes, imagine my delight when Annalyn let me draw a mustache on her last week!
We visited a local children’s museum and the art room had a face painting station. The face crayons (or whatever they’re called, I’m not an expert) were pretty dried out and my subject – AHEM, daughter – was pretty wiggly. So the end result was not worth writing home – or a blog post – about.
But a few nights later, the topic came up with my friend Michelle who’d volunteered at a fair booth. She mentioned that people at the booth were making balloon animals and painting faces, neither of which she knew how to do.
“I know how to make balloon animals and paint faces!” I bragged.
Being the good friend she is, Michelle immediately asked for details. And I had to admit that my last face painting performance was in high school at a fall festival, and I learned to make balloon animals from my friend Daphne on a slow day at the agency (and haven’t done it since).
That’s my friend Daphne up there. And after many hours of hard non-work, she taught me how to make that balloon dog up there. Sadly, my more recent work experiences have not lent themselves to activities involving clowns or balloon animals. Or, in general, tomfoolery.
But just because my face painting and balloon animal skills might be a little rusty doesn’t mean I don’t have any special abilities. After all, I’m great at . . . let me think . . . at . . . well, there’s . . .
Hmmm.
Now, don’t yell at me. Of course I have skills. You might even say I have skillz. I mean, you probably wouldn’t. Because that is ridiculous. But you might.
And sure, I can write and make people laugh and think and feel. I can sing a little and once upon a time, I could play the piano pretty well. I can put together a cute scrapbook very quickly, and I can whip up a tasty dinner at will. But those things . . . well, they’re so boring!
Do I have any FUN skills?
Considering I have claimed – more than once – that my superpowers are proofreading, spelling and all things grammatical, it’s quite possible I don’t.
Hmmm.
Can I toss pizza dough? Stand on my head? Make fancy cake pops? Sketch caricatures of my family and friends? Twirl a pen around my fingers? Tie nautical knots? Sing all the words to It’s the End of the World As We Know It? Juggle? Ride a unicycle? Apply lipstick without using my hands?
Um, no.
But, all this deep thinking has reminded me of one thing I mastered many moons ago. My cousins have taught me many things, from the proper technique for rolling my jeans to the one-handed melody of Axel F on the piano. And during our family camping trips way back in the day, they also taught me The Cup Game.
You know the one, right? Tap, tap, hit the cup. Pick it up . . .
Yes, I’m aware that, as it turns out, this is often a drinking game. I can’t speak for my cousins, but I have never used my Cup Game powers for evil or debauchery. But I did build on my cup-moving skills to dominate The Shoe Game we played on a church trip to Canada a few years ago.
I’m not sure what it is. I wouldn’t normally claim excellent hand-eye coordination, but apparently when you put it to a little chant and add the word “game” to it, I’m a super star.
There you have it. My special fun skill is mastery of The Cup Game. (Well, that and knowing Every. Single. Word. to Salt ‘n’ Pepa’s Shoop. But that’s not exactly something to brag about, is it?)
Do you have any special (fun) skills or abilities you’d like to share? (Perhaps we’ll start a blogger carnival…)
Well….I can swim across a pool underwater without taking a breath…
and peel an entire apple without breaking the peel…
and…I’m not very good at this, am I? :)
Let’s just hope I’m forgetting something spectacular, k?
(And I FULLY expect to see a REAL LIFE DEMONSTRATION NEXT MONTH!!!)
Um, how about “write haiku”??? That’s a good one!
I CAN spin pizza dough, thanks to many years as a restaurant manager. We used to play catch with the dough when kids were in the lobby. One of my secret wishes was to be able to compete in pizza acrobatics but I’m not willing to go back to working in a pizza place just so I can practice!
I don’t blame you for that, but that is a really cool skill!!!
You crack me up. Is that the same as beer pong? Not that would know anything about that., Not that I played that every weekend BC (before Christ) in my college days.
Girl you are so talented ;)
I’ve never played beer pong, but I’m pretty sure it’s different. So I’ve heard…
I am uncommonly good at being not-good at most things. Ha! Though I do have a crazy good memory, making me the go-to person in my family. Cause if you did something and I know about it, it is like having a video camera at the event.
I bet that particular skill can be good AND bad!
What a fun topic! My husband is actually quite good at making balloon animals. :) Me? I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue… I can fit the fat end of a beer bottle in my mouth… can you tell these are all college tricks that impressed guys and have done absolutely nothing for me in the 15 years since? ;) I can also make a perfect martini or manhattan, neither of which I drink, but my skills were in high demand when I worked at a fancy pants restaurant a couple summers.
Hmmm…well, they’re still SKILLS, though! And you just never know when a martini might come in handy…
The older my children get, the more they expect the fun skills to come out. I can shoot some hoops and build some Legos, but I may be lacking a little in this department (but I do think I could draw that cute little mustache :)
See? Start with the mustache and see where it takes you! ;)
I think I’m pretty good at DDR. :) It’s taken quite a bit of practice though, and I still couldn’t compete against those crazy people in the arcades who look like a blur when they do it. But I do pretty well, imo. :)
Oh yeah! You ARE good at DDR! Definitely a FUN skill!!
My 7 yo makes awesome balloon animals. Me? Well I can stick my entire fist in my mouth.
This. should. surprise. no one.
Oh, dear. So many things to say, so few of them appropriate…
I *used* to be able to tie a cherry stem using only my teeth and tongue. But I’m been many, many years since I tried. Might have to give it ago again :-)
Sounds like a good reason to get a cherry limeade! ;)