Did you know Hannah Montana came to Willowbrook Mall?

Well, she did. In the form of me. This night was hilarious!!! I had two goals for the evening, 1., look as much like Hannah Montana as possible. 2., at the very least, look as little like myself as possible. Not knowing anything about Hannah Montana, I went to the Disney Channel website, where there is a link entititled: How to dress like Hannah Montana. Bright tank top, check. Jacket with embellishmnets, check. Sparkly Scarf, Check. Boots (gold), check. Sunglasses, check. And of course, the wig. Check. I actually had a different wig but it was a child's wig and even after straightening my hair, my hair would not fit under it. Fortunately, I happened upon this other one, longer, with more hair, on clearance at Palais Royal. The gold boots, were also a fortunate find at the Goodwill. I went through several wardrobe changes this evening before deciding on what is in the picture below. And even after that, I traded out the sweater for a fitted tan jacket. I actually thought I looked more like either a Drag Queen or a cross between Hannah Montana and Sharpay Evans from High School Musical. I looked really conspicuous in either case. And that is so unlike me. I think my dress style is "hide in your clothes" or at least "don't stand out." Well tonight, I really rocked that sense of style. Because I wasn't hiding and I was definitely standing out. Before I left, Andrew came into the bathroom where I was getting ready and said, "cute, mommy!" So, with his vote of confidence, off I went in my ridiculous get up.

When I pulled up to the mall parking lot, I had to take several deep breaths to gear myself up for what I was about to do. I happened to see a friend who was there as a youth leader on the way in, and after he was able to breathe after laughing so hard, he walked with me to get into the building. Then I just tried to find a place to sit and not stand out overly much. I sat in a corner with my back facing the Old Navy storefront. I wish I could have kept count of people who stared!!! People either openly gawked at the spectacle that was me, or they saw me but didn't want to look directly, so they just sort of peeked. Their reactions were the same. Disbelief...shock...horror, maybe. "Is she for real???" Teenagers grabbed each other's arms and montioned for them to look in my direction. Then they would hide behind their hands (or not) and laugh. Children stared and pointed and pulled on their parents' arms. Their parents would look and smile in silent mockery. "no honey, that's not Hannah Montana, that's just a weirdo in a really bad wig." People pulled out their cell phones to take pictures. Some people looked at their friends and twirled their fingers by their heads in the "she's crazy" motion. They didn't know I was inwardly doing the same thing. Most people (including me) couldn't believe there was someone in long super shiny, Hannah Montana-esque blonde hair and gold boots sitting openly, and seriously, in the mall. I just tried to appear engrossed in the book I was reading. But honestly, I was so distracted by people's reactions that I probably read the same pages about 5 times without anything sinking in. Oh man, it was so great. And then the YM and YW started coming. Some of them knew it was me, I mean, who wears sunglasses indoors at 7:30 at night? But some of them were really nervous about approaching someone who did not appear to look like her normal self... they see the "hide behind the clothes" person, only on Sunday. So I would see them from a distance, wondering between each other, "Who is that? Is that her? You go ask!" Some of them said, "I couldn't even tell it was you!" So I was glad that objective number 2, look as little like myself as possible, was met. One of them even said she liked my boots. It didn't help the bystander stare issue when those large groups of kids came up to me and asked for my autograph, which they needed for the game. I signed my name, Hannah Montana, at least 5 or 6 times. The Old Navy manager came out and was like, "what is going on here? Who is this? It's Hannah Montana?! We're all in there wondering what's going on!" It was sooooo embarrassing and too much fun. At the end, we all met in the Food Court for treats. I wasn't sure I could make the long walk from the end of the mall to the middle by myself... I was going to have to pass a lot of people, most of whom I knew would gawk and stare. So embarrassing! One little kid alllmoooost came up to me with a pen and paper so Hannah Montana could sign it. (So I guess in some people's minds I met objective number 1, look as much like Hannah Montana as possible). I made it to the food court, and then the rest of the youth leaders saw me and we all had a good laugh. Ha! I was all too happy to take off that wig and go home. So my friend again escorted me to the car so I didn't get arrested by the Bad Wig Police. And then it was over. Hopefully I can get a group shot together so you can see the Celebrity posse, consisting of Hannah Montana, Nacho Libre, Carrie Underwood, David Archuleta, and many more. But as far as Hannah Montana is concerned, no more autographs, please.