A Year Ago Today

A lot has changed. In our lives, in the lives of our family and friends, and in the lives of our communities. A little over a month ago, our state was ravaged by the worst storms it's seen in my lifetime. From my friend's damaged house to my sister's infertility, so many people around us experienced personal tragedies. While I desperately searched for employment, Rush and I spent 2 months of our marriage as a one-income family.

These hardships help to sweeten all the glorious moments we've experienced this year. Just this weekend, we celebrated my cousin Molly's graduation from high school. Katie and Noah are 25 weeks away from holding their first child. My parents were able to move to a new, cute house just a couple blocks away from my sister. On Valentine's Day I had the immense pleasure of announcing that 4 months of auditioning had paid off - I'm now just a couple short months from bringing Tracy to life in RMTC's Hairspray! We brought in 2011 with Blake and Scotty's beautiful wedding. Since October, I have worked 5 jobs and enjoyed every single one of them while Rush has been blessed with more security at his own. After the best 4 days of my life at the most magical place on earth, Rush and I moved into our first home and adopted our two babies, Schnitzel and Luna Lovegood.

In a year of so much change, we loved using today to remember things that stay the same. One year ago...

I ate lunch at Surin with my family while Rush watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia with his friends.  Today Rush and I ate dinner at Surin together and put on How I Met Your Mother when we got to our home.

Rush and I enjoyed the entire day being with family and friends. Today we spent the entire day on our own, enjoying each other's company.

My family and I drove all over Birmingham to find the correct Publix and Krispy Kreme to pick up our wedding "cakes". Today Rush and I bought 2 cupcakes and 2 doughnuts just for us.

My husband of about an hour sang Mario Kart Love Song with me in front of our loved ones. Today we sang the same song quietly in the car, just to see if we remembered it. We did.

Rush and I had our ceremony at the Botanical Gardens and our reception at Park Lane - 2 places that hold a special place in our hearts. Today we went to the McWane Center, which is where we went on September 27th 2007 - the anniversary of our first year as a couple.

Rush and I stopped at Sonic on our way home after a long night of dancing, talking, and laughing with our wonderful guests. Today we shared a drink from Sonic as we started our special day.

I married my best friend. Today he reminded me how lucky I am.

Blue Hair of Expression

I love to dye my hair. I love it so much, it could possibly be called a hobby of mine. My hair has, at one point or another, been pretty much every color under the sun. And I'm not just talking about the colors that are found on natural heads of hair, much to my mother's chagrin. Hair is the ultimate accessory and I feel so lucky to have a type which holds up to color extremely well. From bleaching, to putting pink and purple side by side, to dying it as dark as it can be, my hair has continually helped me express a little piece of myself.

Lavender - my personal favorite

Luckily, through the generosity of RMTC and the excellent instruction of Shad Simpson, I've had the opportunity to express myself in a much more rewarding way. NS Dance is a beautiful building full of beautiful people who create beautiful art. It has been so exciting to get to know the high school girls in my musical theatre class and I hope our paths cross again and again. I love being able to move and explore dancing in this comfortable setting. It is so incredible to be given the opportunity of learning from and amongst such talented human beings.

Just a wig, but oh how I'd relish this color all the time!

I can't pretend I don't miss put crazy colors in my hair ever few months, though. Way back in November, I was searching for the perfect audition song for RMTC's Hairspray. A friend of mine turned me onto a song called "Blue Hair" and I was instantly devoted. It's not too mainstream, it has that up-beat story-telling feel to it, and it is about a young girl who wants to dye her hair blue, which I would love to do (again). I told myself that if I didn't get a callback, I really would dye my hair blue. Then I decided that if I didn't make the finalists, I'd dye it blue. So then I said, still, if I don't get the part, I'm going blue... I'm quite happy that my hair is still not blue!

Blue Hair circa 2007