Karaoke Attempt #1

This weekend I tried karaoke for the first time, which is something I had always wanted to have the courage to do.  I had envisioned this would occur at some smoky bar where no one was listening and I would absolutely kill whatever vocally challenging song I had selected (you know, sing it in public as well as it goes in the shower).  Then, some unseen music executive would try to book me for recording deal, but I would have to regretfully decline, citing family obligations.  Of course, this scenario requires that I could actually sing well in public. 

Instead of the bar scenario, my actual first attempt at karaoke occurred at my in-law's 40th wedding anniversary picnic that we through for them over the weekend (karaoke in midday, no smoke, audience paying attention). Of the hundreds of song choices, I picked "Vogue" by Madonna because Caroline and Abby love that song from seeing it on Glee (Scott and I have been recording Glee for the kids and watching some of the production numbers since Caroline likes to sing and dance so much).  Caroline loves (loves!) the "Vogue" song on Glee so I thought she'd sing it with me, which she did a little of the chorus but of course she can't read yet, so I was alone on the verses.  I turned around when finished and everyone was just staring at me, mouths agape. The older generation didn't know the song and I think my generation was wondering why on earth I picked Madonna.  You could hear the crickets chirping...at least it's how it felt to me.

Although Caroline was a little shaky on her first song (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), she then became completely at home on the microphone for the rest of the afternoon. 

Performing Song #8 or so

More importantly, this weekend's anniversary festivities went well.  I was in charge of the picnic planning and food purchasing.  Although I felt relatively calm on the outside, apparently my subconscious was not as at ease because I dreamed about endlessly packing and unpacking bags on Sunday night after the event was over.  I had planned for several contingencies, so when the original grill plan fell through, I just happened to have an extra charcoal grill (and charcoal, matches, and charcoal tower) as a backup.  Normally I don't happen to have an extra grill in the minivan, but Trish cracked me up when she called me Mary Poppins with my magic bag.  Maybe I should have sung "My Favorite Things" or "A Spoonful of Sugar" instead of "Vogue"?  Then, at least I could have had some kind of dream sequence with Dick Van Dyke.

Just Singing in the Rain