Author Archives: mbajane

Dyeing for Color

Posted on December 24, 2012 by mbajane

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,690 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,500 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

Just the name alone gave me warm, fuzzy feelings. After all, my roots were coming in dreadfully and I’d been hoping to find an excuse to go dark chocolate brunette for Christmas Eve (nothing says holidays like dark chocolate, am I right, girls?) But turns out, the Merit Badge gurus were not talking about my tresses. They also weren’t talking about tie-dye parties, of which I’ve had one or two (tenth birthday—it was psychedelic, dudettes) but actual … um, like, dyeing for less trivial reasons? Well, whatever the reason, I got behind this beginner level Dyeing for Color Merit Badge!

I decided to try the ancient art (okay, maybe it’s not ancient, but still) of tea coloring. I mean, it was only logical—I love tea. The smell, the taste, the jolt, and I love the color, although not on my teeth. That brings me back to chocolate. Everything brings me back to chocolate, actually. I think I have a problem.

Is there a 12-step program for chocoholics? No? Never mind. Back to the badge.

You know, badge is very nearly spelled fudge …

Sorry. I’m focused now.

I have a beeyooTEAful lace tablecloth that my Gramma Barbie gave me years ago. I’m always afraid to use it on Christmas day because:

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Homespun Christmas, Part II

Posted on December 23, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

With visions of sugarplums still dancing in my head, I got up early to get a jump on the rest of my Christmas crafting in order to earn my beginner level Homespun Christmas Merit Badge. I had salt dough to make and also a triple batch of dog biscuits (I decided why stop at my own doggie and the other one or two I could think of when the Humane Society had plenty of biscuit-less four-legged friends?)

Since the salt dough ornaments were going to take the longest, I started with them …

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Lend a Hand to Families

Posted on December 2, 2012 by mbajane

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,649 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,500 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

A much-anticipated opportunity came this week. I was so excited. A girlfriend of mine, a real farm chick, a bosom buddy, one of my besties, had a baby! I could finally earn my Lend a Hand to Families badge! I’d been waiting for pestilence and plague, someone to fall sick or have a tragic injury, anything to give me the chance to help someone out.

I know. Even as a joke, it falls flat. My sacrificial nature and priorities are one of the best things about Yours Truly. Along with my humility, of course.

So, I waited by the phone with bated breath, anticipating the …

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Greatest Generation

Posted on November 27, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

Earning this badge was one I was looking forward to, and one I could have earned dozens of times over when I was just a little sprout: spending time with the senior citizens in my life. See, as a youngster, whenever I went through a phase (cheerleading, clarinet, ballet, choir, underwater basket weaving), I would take my new skills to the local retirement home for polishing. I found there to be a good mix of love and support, and tell-it-like-it-is truthfulness, disguised in blue-haired ladies and no-haired gentlemen. It was nice for them, and valuable for me. I made lots of friends of the grandparent variety, and they got a little something to look forward to after school on Fridays. At least I think they looked forward to it …

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Outstepping Merit Badge

Posted on November 17, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

This last weekend was the last weekend I felt good about hiking. After all, winter is coming, and though I have First Aid Kits ready in my car, I have no desire to be eaten by bears (or are they hibernating?) or get stuck in a snow drift, or miss my favorite holiday movie on the Hallmark Channel. So, I dusted off my best flannel shirt, laced up my boots, and set off on an adventure of the hiking and exploring and Merit Badge-ing type!

I was on the lookout for three things for this badge: my state tree, my state flower, and my state bird …

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First Aid, Part II

Posted on November 13, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

Now that my first aid kits are put together by yours truly, and installed, I am moving on to Part II of this particular badge. I hadn’t expected the first part to have been so time consuming, but I confess, I may have spent an inordinate amount of time picking out the prettiest boxes and arranging all my things inside. You can always be less fussy; after all, it’s about safety, not color-coordinating your Band-Aids and Q-tips.

Part II seemed easy enough: Check your smoke detectors.

At first, I kinda wanted to skip this part. I mean, trust me: they work. I know this because they like to …

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Make It Pretty

Posted on November 10, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

Art is not something I’ve always excelled at. Let’s just say I’m artfully challenged. Sketching impaired. Watercolorphobic. When art classes came around in school, I was too busy nibbling the erasers and licking the paste to really pay a lot of attention to focal points, shading, and blending. I thought I was art challenged, that is, until I realized Art Class came at 2:30, and I was just hungry.

So, for my Make it Pretty badge, I made sure I had a tummy full of …

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Madge In the Garden Badge

Posted on October 29, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

I used to be the kind of girl that spent her afternoons at fancy boutiques, her weekends at the mall, and her evenings at Macy’s online store. But the older (um, I mean, the more mature) I get, the more I do my shopping in unconventional places. You know, like thrift shops, vintage stores, tag sales, flea markets, and well, the occasional curb.

I mean, I’m not exactly dumpster diving (yet) but you’d be amazed at some of the perfectly great things people will throw away. Well, some of them need a little TLC, it’s true … but TLC happens to be my middle name. Actually, it’s Katherine, but let’s not split hairs.

Anyway, I was driving by a residential street the other day, when my eagle eye happened upon

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Let’s Get Physical

Posted on October 10, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

Now that the dulcet strains of Olivia Newton John are stuck your head for the rest of the day, let’s talk fitness! (It’s actually a merit badge.) Since I’ve made over my diet pretty darn well in the past year (goodbye, Mr. Chips, hello, Mr. Fruit Smoothie), I have finally decided to tackle the other part of my health plan.

Exercise.

Is it just moi, or did that word send shivers down your spine? I’m breaking a sweat just thinking about breaking a sweat. I feel like I need a good cooling down, and I haven’t done the aerobic activity yet. This is bad.

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Public Service

Posted on October 6, 2012 by mbajane

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

Mr. Wonderful has a wonderful way of being involved in the community that I’ve really sat up and taken notice of. I decided to take a page from his book, so to speak, and really up my connection to my hometown … and what do you know? There’s a merit badge for just such community spirit!

I have to admit to being a little intimidated by going to a town council meeting, but on the other side of that nervous pancake, I have always kind of wondered what they talk about in there. I mean, were they discussing the length of my grass, the state of my favorite downtown restaurants, voting in a new Bed, Bath and Beyond? What was all the chatter about every third Wednesday?

I resolved to find out by giving myself a new do and picking out an I-mean-business outfit.

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