in my non-planning life, i’m an avid sports fan. so avid that the boy likes to joke that when i come home, i’ll have to “wash the baseball” off of me before i can cuddle with him. how is it that the sports fanatics almost always end up with the non-fanatics?
anywho, the point of this. i was reading espn.com’s page 2 today and came across patrick hruby’s list of “20 things that make you look like a sports doofus” and was amused [and validated] when i came across this item:
7. Proposing via JumboTron
Dubious behavior: Popping the question on the big, big, big screen before 20,000 of your closest nonfriends.
Doofus factor: As tall and wide as the University of Texas’ “Godzillatron,” the second-biggest hi-def video board in the Western Hemisphere. Consider: You’re shoehorning an otherwise romantic moment into a context of chain gangs and drunken tailgating. You’re putting her on the spot in an aggressive, borderline-creepy way. You’re risking epochal failure if she says no. And for what? To make a “creative” proposal that’s actually clichéd? To live out the climax of a Drew Barrymore movie? When Karl Marx said history repeats itself — first as tragedy, then as farce — he wasn’t actually talking about JumboTron proposals. But only because televisions had yet to be invented.
Suggested solution: There’s nothing wrong with a candlelit dinner at a nice restaurant. Or skydiving.
Mitigating circumstances: If you are: (a) working as a scoreboard operator, (b) filming a scene for a Barrymore film or (c) dating the team mascot, then all bets are off.
Related behaviors: Using the team mascot to advance your romantic life in any way.
as a sports fan, i say THANK THE GOOD LORD. seriously, i’ve always been bugged by in stadium proposals. i don’t really see the inherent charm in being proposed to on a jumbotron. this is one woman’s opinion.
i told the boy that under no circumstances is he to propose to me at a sporting event. nope, no way, no how. i’m going to be to involved in the game to want to have to pay attention to something else, and usually i’m annoyed when i am bothered [though i have gotten better at that] plus i really want that moment to be just the two of us because i have a strong feeling i’m going to be a hot mess when it does happen and i don’t want to breakdown in front of several hundred strangers. no sir, not me.
and i LOVE being the center of attention.
that said, i also want to be able to enjoy the moment and i’m not going to be able to surrounded by several hundred people. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again and again, i want to relish in that moment for as long as humanely possible before revealing it to the world. i want it to be our little secret, even if only for a night.
but to each their own. some people find the stadium proposal to be perfectly utterly them and love the idea. but i think the proposal should be a reflection of the couple and since we don’t share the same level of sports enthusiam, this would be more me than anything else. i want a proposal that speaks of him as well, whatever that may be.
i don’t imagine how it’ll be. i leave that up to him and i’m sure it’ll be perfect for us.
the pomanders turned out to be super simple and easy to create. though i will admit that it came at a small price: i burned myself with my hot glue gun. i can’t believe that happened after 10 years of flawless usage. i’m serious. i was really sad.
anywho, i had a request for a tutorial and i’m more than happy to oblige. and as i’m a very visual learner, i included pictures. so ready, set, craft!
1) styrofoam balls [mine are 2 ½ inches in diameter]
2) screwdriver
3) small cupcake liners/candy cups
4) glue gun and glue sticks
5) floral wire
6) ribbon of your choice
7) crochet needle and thread [totally optional but they came in handy...you'll see how later]
step one:
take the screwdriver and push it through the styrofoam ball. that makes the hole you’ll later use to string the ribbon through. keep the screwdriver in the ball; it makes handling the ball a lot easier as you’re working
step two:
take a cupcake liner and twist it. i like to use a crochet needle because i am addicted to needless steps. but truthfully, i did find that it was helpful with shaping the liner. when you’re done, snip a length of floral wire and wrap it around the end like so to make a little flower type of thing:
step three:
put a little glue on your desired location and press the flower into the glue. the best thing is the hot glue kind of melts the styrofoam so you can really press it in there
step four:
rinse and repeat. i like to start at the top and work my way around to make sure i covered most of the spots. the amount of liners you’ll need will depend on how dense a look you want. for a looser looking pomander, you can use less and space them out more. for a denser pomander, pack them in tightly. just be aware that you’ll need more liners per ball if you go for a denser look.
step five:
now the fun part, threading your ribbon. this was kind of hard for me so what i did [again with a possibly needless step] is tie some sewing thread around the end of the ribbon and to the crochet needle and just pull it through from there. you can either have your ribbon looped so it will create a handle or you can have it as a single line like i made mine. just tie the knot on the bottom to keep it from sliding off and you’re done!
i hope this was helpful. oh another tip is i’ve found it to be a little faster when i took the time to make a bunch of the flower things first that way i didn’t have to stop after each placement to make the next.
[giggle]
sorry, i quite enjoy monty python’s holy grail. anywho, i just wanted to pop in and announce to you all 4 of my readers that i have not forgotten you! never fear, for i am still here. i’ve just had a busy weekend. my birthday is this week so i spent the weekend celebrating. good times.
anywho, i do have that tutorial on the pomanders written up, sambina, i just haven’t gotten a chance to take pictures of the steps, which is my preferred method of following tutorials as i’m a visual learner. but i’m hoping to do that this week so please don’t think i forgot!
i’m also hoping i’ll have a chance to scour the web for lovely tidbits to share so at least when i return i’ll have gifts. a gift makes everything better.
man this grad school business is no joke. i have two reading intensive courses this quarter and surprisingly i actually feel compelled to do the reading. where was that feeling during undergrad? part of me hopes the boy doesn’t propose until close to when i’m finished but then the other part of me is all, “girl, you are crazy! you want to wait even longer to marry him?! REALLY?! are you insane, woman?!”
i can be kind of mean to myself sometimes.
anywho, so i finally finished my cupcake liner pomander project. so i dumped the idea of doing a garland in this instance, but haven’t given up on the garland idea entirely! it has a chance of being reborn in a different setting. still working on the logistics of that project.
but the pomander thing. taking a hint from mrs. sushi [and oddly another one of my old inspiration photos i had dismissed once i latched onto the whole garland thing] i finished working on two more pomanders and attached them together.
i really do like the look of the cupcake liners on the styrofoam balls. they look all fluffy and lovely. and my mom kept commenting on how she wanted to eat them.
oh mom, how i love your silliness.
she did suggest adding some color in, so i swapped out the white ribbon for a blue test ribbon that came off a package of ghirardelli chocolates [i’m a hoarder of all things] but she didn’t like it [i also didn’t take a picture of it]. i was thinking though to just stick with white since the chairs in our church are a forest green so pretty much any color would clash horribly. and while i’m not trying to match, i’m just trying to work with what i got. and white is the easiest to work with.
anywho, where’s the final product. please forgive the fact that i had to take a picture of it in the bathroom. it has the best lighting.
i really like it and as time went on, the process became easier and quicker. also, the number of liners fluctuated. not sure why but it did, so i’m averaging the number to a round 45.
here’s the price breakdown [as much as i can remember…i accidentally tossed my receipt yesterday as i was clearing out my room]:
6-pack of 2 ½ inch styrofoam balls [i don’t remember the exact cost so i’m guessing it was this much]: $3.99 – 40% coupon: $2.39
100 white candy liners (2): $2.98
glue gun/glue: already own
floral wire: already own
ribbon: already own [but i did get 3 spools for a dollar once upon a time – but i won’t be included that in the overall cost]
total, without tax: $5.37
not bad at all. of course, provided i have the right amount for the styrofoam balls. i’ll confirm it next time i roll through michael’s. next time i’ll put out the cash to pick up a 350 count of liners. i can decorate 7 balls with one package! anywho, what do you guys think?