One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I made the move to Olive Branch to start a huge new phase of my life.  I had worked hard to finish my Master's and searched to find the right job for me, and I found it here in DeSoto County.  The past 365 days have been full of ups and downs, triumphs and tribulations, encouragements and obstacles, but I truly wouldn't trade them for anything.  I have changed as a person over these past twelve months, and I am not the same girl who stood unpacking box after box (after box after box... y'all know I have waaaaay to much stuff for my own good) in this apartment last July.  Circumstance, experience, and, most of all, life has changed me.
Here's a brief recap, a highlight reel, if you will, of the past year--in no particular order:

I joined a book club.  If you know me at all, you know how pumped this made me.  Currently we're reading 11/22/63, which is so completely off-the-chain-and-totally-worth-every-one-of-its-eight-hundred-plus-pages.

My mom was diagnosed with cancer, had a hysterectomy and began taking chemotheraphy.  She is doing remarkably well after 3 treatments (halfway... 3 more to go!), and she will start radiation treatment later this month, hopefully.

I survived my first year of work and fell in love with my kids in the process.  I'm not by any means saying that every day was a picnic, but I really do love my job and feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be.

I have made my apartment, my own little space in this big world, mine, and I truly love coming here at the end of the day.  My personality and who I am echoes throughout these rooms, and, as cheesy as it may sound, this place makes me happy! 

I saw 6 fabulous Broadway shows at the Orpheum.  This is probably my favorite thing about living in greater Memphis and, if I'm wholly honest, one of the reasons I searched hard for a job here.  The Orpheum consistently has the best Broadway lineup outside of Times Square, if you ask me, and I always look so forward to seeing productions there.  Over the past year I saw these gems:

I bought a new (to me) car.  The purchase was long overdue, really, but a huuuuuge commitment.  I'm so excited to have a new ride, though, and it's a good thing because I'll be making payments into my thirties.  (I almost threw up when I typed that, for several reasons.)

Most recently, I officially launched my calligraphy sideline business.  You haven't heard about it?  Well, by all means, please check it out here, and feel free to refer me to any and all of your friends/family/loved ones (shameless plug).  I'm really excited about it!

I am incredibly excited and hopeful as I look forward toward what's to come in the next 365 days.  There's no way to know what God has in store for me during the coming twelve months, but I am excited about the possibilities, opportunities and experiences that I know lie ahead of me.

Weekend Update

This was such a good weekend!  Gorgeous weather, good friend, a little culture, a good movie and a lot of laughs.  Who could ask for much more?
I spent Friday night vegging out on my TV watching old episodes of Saturday Night Live and laughing my head off.  A little bit of her:

and a little bit of them:

and, well, a little more of her:

paired with a little bit of this:

made for a fun night, capped off by my favorite man in late night, of course.

Saturday I slept late then headed downtown for a delicious lunch al fresco (duck confit flatbread at The Majestic... I die) before going to see Memphis.  Memphis was out-of-this-world awesome; I just couldn't stop grinning like a fool when it was over!  One of my favorite things about moving to Olive Branch has been being so close to the Orpheum and getting to see so many great shows and concerts already.  If you're anywhere near Memphis and can possibly get to the Orpheum over the next week, do yourself a favor, score some tickets and go see this show.  It will knock your socks off.  Fact.

After doing a little schoolwork this afternoon, I went to see this much-hyped flick:

...and I loved it! 
To give you a little background, I've been a big Footloose fan for a pretty long while, so I knew this new movie was going to have a hard time winning me over.  I loved the movie as a teenager and was even in our senior production of the play in high school.  (Don't judge... it was awesome.)  Anyway, all that to say, I was pretty set in my Footloose ways.  This new one, however, did win me over.  Mostly due to this guy:

(Let's be honest, Kevin Bacon was never much of a looker.)
I also loved this guy, though:

And the re-worked songs were awesome.  What am I forgetting?  Oh, yeah.  The dancing, which was too legit.  Duh.

Go see it.  Whether you're already sold on it or you're a reluctant convert like myself, I know you'll love it.
Why can't the weekends last forever?? 

One Month In

Number of movies seen:  10
Number of times dining out:  10
          *****For a take-out queen like myself, this is, like, wow. 
Number of pounds lost:  7
Number of books read:  5
Number of coupons clipped:  5
Number of fun future excursions planned:  4
          *****Stay tuned for future updates...
Number of workouts with Jillian:  3
Number of school projects completed:  3
Number of fabulous Broadway shows seen:  1

Wicked Good

Have I mentioned how ecstatic I am that Day is finally home from Germany?! I fear I've been lax in giving her the proper welcome she deserves...

Daze, I'm so glad you're back!!

I was fortunate enough to get to spend the entire day with Day yesterday as we ventured to Memphis for a fun day trip, including a matinee of Wicked. I saw Wicked in New York two years ago, and it has remained one of my most favorite musicals. As shocking as this may sound, I think this touring group that brought the production to Memphis may have outshone the cast I saw in New York. It may sound crazy, but it's true!!

One cool surprise was the actor who played the Wizard. I thought he looked familiar the second he walked out on the stage, and with a little racking of my brain I came up with exactly who he was: head counselor Pat from the movie Heavyweights. Random, huh? (And an odd person to remember?) D-list though he may be, Day and I thought it was neat.

We had so much fun laughing and talking all the way to Memphis and back. Before we left, my mom said, "You and Day don't get to acting so silly and laughing that you run the car off the road." She said this in jest, but it was probably pretty good advice, for we did come awfully close to doing just that. I'm so glad she's back and look forward to more fun with her this summer before she starts medical school in the fall.

Raise Your Sleepy Head

There's a lot I don't know, but I can tell you one thing for sure. Positively 2009 is making for some stellar weekends. Chalk the first weekend of March up as another great one.

It all started Friday when I headed to Memphis for a school assignment. By 9:30 that morning I was ready to go to bed (if you're perplexed as to why, see my previous post), but I managed to stay on track and stay awake. I really do love a solitary road trip, as I can listen to whatever I want to on the radio (ahem... showtunes) and sing as loud and as off-key as my heart desires. Also, road trippin' all by my lonesome gives me plenty of time to contemplate my life, which I never seem to get enough of.

I went to a great art exhibit in Memphis (an activity which I have recently discovered I highly enjoy) and headed back home. I was stopping briefly in Tupelo when I got a phone call from Amanda saying she was unexpectedly on her way to Starkville for the weekend. What a great surprise! Even though I was dog tired and about ready to throw in the towel, I knew I would have to pull myself together for a fun night out. I stopped in Columbus to have dinner with my mom then headed back to Starkville. I met up with Amanda, Alex, Josh, and Patrick, and we had a few margs at the mexican restaurant before heading downtown to Barrister's. It was kind of a random night downtown, so we called it a night relatively early.

Saturday I laid on my couch for the majority of the day watching a Harry Potter marathon that was on ABC Family. (Harry Potter is one of my many guilty pleasures, and I could watch those movies on repeat.) Katie arrived in town early afternoon, and we got dolled up for Megan and Brandon's engagement party in West Point. I was so excited to get to see and spend time with her; I can't believe I hadn't seen her since football season!

Anyway, the engagement party was so great. There was such a solid crew there, and everybody had such a great time. I know the road to this wedding is going to be so much fun. I mean, think about who is involved; how could it not be?! After the wedding we came back to Starkville and headed up to Mugshots, where Amanda and I kicked off the night by doing a Will & Grace/Friends megamix of impressions. We really do get carried away when we're together. I had so much fun at the bar Saturday, and it was almost like the calendar had gone back two years and I was a senior all over again. Almost, but not quite. In a way, it was almost... better.

Sunday morning I woke up bright and super early (and it felt even earlier since I had to set my clock ahead an hour) to head back to Memphis to meet Becca for Legally Blonde: The Musical. Y'all know how much I've missed Becca since she made the move to Jackson, so I was super excited to get to spend the afternoon. We had a great brunch downtown and had one of our great talks. In fact, we got to ranting, raving, and swinging our hands about so much (Becca literally hit a waiter) that we almost missed the show. If you know Becca and I, I'm sure you're not surprised; it's rather typical, I say.

Let me take a moment and talk about my deep-seated adoration for musical theater. I think I was destined to love musicals, as that is practically all my mother would ever let me rent at Blockbuster as a child. Seriously, other kids were watching Goonies while I was camped out in front of the television singing along with Newsies or Oliver! Though I grumbled about it then, my distate quickly faded, and now I will give practically any musical a chance. I've seen Peter Pan, My Fair Lady, Annie, The Kind and I, The Lion King, 42nd Street, The Phantom of the Opera (twice), Movin' Out, Sweet Charity, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Wicked, Rent, Jersey Boys, Cats, and now Legally Blonde. It would be impossible for me to say which one was my favorite, as so many of them were absolutely amazing. I can tell you, however, that apparently I don't much care for shows about animals. I despised Cats (I think you need subtitles to understand it), and I think I'm the only person in the world who didn't like The Lion King. For whatever reason, the animals just don't do it for me.

But, I digress. Legally Blonde was every bit as amazing as I knew it would be, and Becca and I laughed our way through all two-and-a-half hours of it. In fact, Becca said to me during intermission, "I don't want it to end. I want it to go on forever." My sentiments exactly, Bec. I was sad to part ways from Becca (and even sadder when I got back to my apartment and had to hit the books for a midterm I had today), but this was the greatest weekend. I look back over the weekend with happy exhaustion and a smile on my face.