Hold Me Closer...

Not-so-tiny Dancer! That's what I felt like today! OLD. But if felt so good at the same time. In case you're not up-to-date on my facebook, today I danced (as in for the sake of performing and not just for fun) for the first time in 2.5 years! WHOA! Where on earth did the time go? I can't believe its been that long. So, here's a brief synopsis of my day, as well as a little clue as to how I'm feeling after the fact.

**Warning this will end on a sappy, teary note. I can't help it, you know that I'm aging (turning into my mom!)!**

I started the day nervous as all get out. I'm talking gastrointestinal issues all over the place (you wanted to know, I know) so much so that Tyler & I had to go unlock the band room because we were in town and I HAD to go. You all know how nervous I am anyway. SO we were all a little unsure of what we were wearing, as now that we're adults we had to order costumes ourselves and had chosen a number of back-ordered items. So, along with my SMALL ADULT leotard, I brought pants, 2 skirts, shorts, and a pair of dance capris. Because of this, 3 out of 5 of us were wearing my clothese! YES! I love being prepared! Are you proud, Mama?? We got dressed, did a few run-throughs, and headed out for rehearsal. Then I got even more nervous! YIKES!

The nerves were just a rouse though, because the whole thing went off without a hitch...mostly, anyway. What do you expect from a bunch of old chicks doing some hardcore dancing?! I'm kidding, there were minor slip ups (as always) but overall, I'm quite proud of the ole Dance Academy teachers! And, even better, my Tyler said I was the prettiest girl in the recital! YES! He even took me to Taco Bell afterwards, what a lucky lady! Here's a post-performance picture in the kitchen...ignore the mess, we're in the middle of a move! No judging!

At present, I'm freshly showered and snuggled up in my robe, feeling a little sore and a lot nostalgic. Dancing will do that to you, or at least to me. I think its because dancing is home to me, its my constant. I started when I was barely 3, so I don't even remember a time when I didn't dance. Dancing brought me through a lot of things, including my parents' divorce and an abusive relationship, when nothing else felt comforting. In reality, it's a part of who I am.

So why am I expected to stop because school is over? Now don't get me wrong, I don't think I should be doing any solos or rockin the front row in recital routines, but I don't think we should ever have to stop dancing. There are classes to take and classes to teach, and, though it seemed a little ridiculous when I was first asked to be a part of one, there are teacher routines to be performed. Because everybody wants to know that their dance teacher can actually dance and isn't just part of some money-making scheme. Which, by the way, isn't the case. You do not teach dance because you want to be wealthy...you teach dance because you love it and you want to transfer that love to somebody else. I digress...don't ask me to stop dancing. Because that's asking me to stop doing what I love and to stop being who I am. I am not ok with that. Ever. Even when I'm pregnant and wearing maternity dancewear...right Miss Emily??

Like I said earlier, dance is home. There is no way I could possibly be as happy as I am in Thomasville without working at the Dance Academy and dancing with the girls I dance with. My little ones are a hoot, my teenagers are teenagers (ha!), the teachers have become my friends, and Mrs. Susan has always made me feel like I fit right in--like one of her own dancers. I could not be more thankful to any of those people, for letting me be a part of what they've got going here. I love it! What's not to love, folks? 

So, though I'm loving my new home and my new friends, I am also left missing the old girls/boys I danced with too. Even though I spent literal years fighting with these people, I bonded with them. We weren't just girls (+ Ted + Zeb) who danced together, we were sisters--a family. So, I say a teary-eyed thank you for letting me dance beside you for years and I hope each of you knows how much you mean to me. We don't talk anymore (aside from my 42nd Street sisters), but I love you all and I'd give anything to do it all just one more time! I'll never forget any insane Dance Caravan trips/early Saturday morning practices/marathon recitals/out of town competition weekends/etc. I'm exhausted just thinking of it all, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! I obviously can't finish this up without mentioning Miss Lisa & Miss Mandi (my other moms) & even my mean ole wig-wiring-in Mama, but I don't even have the words to say. I am forever grateful for the dance lessons and the life lessons that I gained from all 3 of you. Could I love you more? Absolutely not. Though there were days when I hated you, I'm thankful for those too...I turned out alright even though I refuse to ever attempt an aerial again. Thank you a million times over and I love you all!

Ok, enough sappy sweetness, its typically not my style. That's what dancing does to me! In other news: HE has risen! Come celebrate our forgiveness and visit The Gathering Church tomorrow! We would LOVE to have you AND you could win an iPad!! Best Western in Tville 9am & 11am! COME!

XOXO & some sore muscles,
Hannah

PS: Share your nostalgia with me! Give me your hilarious/sad/awesome dance stories+memories!

P.R.O.M.

You're wondering what a grown woman is doing talking about prom aren't you? That's a fair question, so I suppose I'll cue you in.

All of my little high schoolers (some former students, some Tyler's band kids, some of my dazzlers, etc.) have been going to prom recently and I am reminded of how much I hated that experience. My apologies to my two former prom dates, but it was awful.

Keep in mind, I'm a heavy sweater. Prom is a high stress event...you start getting ready at like 10am which is completely absurd but you have to have pictures at like 3 in the afternoon and your hair/makeup/spray tan(yes, spray tan I'm as pale as a ghost) all have to be completed beforehand. [Side note: sweat face was bound to make the spray tan run, so blotting was necessary too.] You go to dinner at a restaurant you probably don't even like around 5 and finally get to the ole shindig a little late (fashionably, of course, but you CANT be there when the doors open as that's social suicide and you'll look totally lame). Of course I've left out the part where said pictures are ALWAYS outside in the hot sunshine which makes sweaty folks sweatier (namely me) so you try to take them in the shade to cool off but then you have those weird leaf shadows on your forehead. Anyway, high stress makes sweaties sweat even more. So prom left me soaked and awkward, typically with lipstick on my teeth. Hott.

Then you get to the dance. And if you were like me you didn't actually want to be there with your date so you tried to get lost and spend time in the bathroom and find other folks to dance with to make the time go by faster. I know that sounds awful, but I couldn't help it. When it inevitably ended (you had to leave early too, because it was also lame to be caught there til the end) you went back to your BFF's (who you don't even talk to anymore) and had breakfast with your moms. This was the best part of the night, hands down.

I also always tried way too hard to make a fashion statement at the "biggest night of my life." Junior year I wore a rainbow dress (which I thought was super cool) and carried a boa. Boyfriend of the week/prom date carried a cane. We thought we were rockin. Senior year I dyed my hair pink & purple and wore the cut outs. My date became my date 3 days earlier so I'm surprised we coordinated at all (props to his momma!). Did I mention how cool I thought I was??? Really Cool. I totally expected everybody to be jealous...they weren't.

Did anybody else hate prom? Too much hype for not enough fun. Lame. And I always thought I'd care about those pictures and want to show them to my kids, but I don't. I don't think I care if my kids ever see my prom pictures. Especially senior prom when I wore a dress with cut outs to show my belly (which looked considerably better then)...they don't need to be thinking of mommy dearest with her crazy hair colors and belly-dress!

I don't regret going to the prom and this whole "coming-of-age-experience," but I also owe props to the brother for going against the grain and avoiding the awkward.

That's all I've got!

XOXO & old prom corsages,
Hannah

PS: I'm currently sweating while remembering this experiences. Seriously.

Guilty Pleasure

Why am I posting twice in one night? I'm not sure. Except that I've finally found my guilty pleasure song on youtube and I want to share.

First off, I must say that I keep my radio station tuned to 88.1 WayFM...Christian radio. LOVE that station, the best Christian station I've ever listened to!! (I say that so you know how out of character this song is for me.) However, it got a little fuzzy on my way to Valdosta last week, so I turned it to some kind of Valdosta hit station. On that station this song played a few times while I was in Valdosta. Now, I had to google the lyrics and there are a few ugly words, but I still think its a good song. I'm in love with it. Its really an uplifting song. One that Tyler is tired of hearing on repeat now that I've found it. Let me share a link, along with the lyrics to my favorite verse. One day I'll learn to rap it myself and if you're lucky I'll post a video on here for you to see. Don't hold your breath.

So my new favorite song/guilty pleasure: Lupe Fiasco's The Show Goes On!!

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rmp6zIr5y4U?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here are the lyrics to my favorite part, taken from metrolyrics.com:

So no matter what you been through, no matter what you into
No matter what you see when you look outside your window
Brown grass or green grass, picket fence or barbed wire
Never ever put them down, you just lift your arms higher
Raise 'em 'til your arms tired, let 'em know you here
That you struggling, survivin', that you gon' persevere
Ain't nobody leavin', nobody goin' home
Even if they turn the lights out, the show is goin' on

Perseverance is so important and I love that this song pushes for that. I also appreciate that he points our that your past situations, or the type of fence surrounding your house, don't have to determine where you end up. It brought tears to my eyes (because I'm a ridiculous nerd like that) the first time I heard it! I don't know much about Lupe Fiasco, but I am loving his message in this song!!

Now that you know I'm a closet inspirational rap fan, its seriously bedtime.

XOXO & perseverance,

Hannah

PS: Can I just say if I was someone else reading this post I would totally be making fun of me. So laugh it up!

Rejoining the Ranks

Well friends, I've rejoined the ranks of my social networking counterparts. Feels good. I'm glad I can now stalk your lives and see what I've been missing. Here are a few things I discovered or re-discovered upon my re-entry to the facebook culture:

1. My life is average and that's ok.
2. My brother has a girlfriend. (Ok so I already knew that, but I didn't know it was fbook official!LEGIT)
3. The majority of my old girlfriends now have hyphenated names.(who are you people?! yikes!)
4. I miss my hometown a little more than I thought. (Out of sight, out of mind maybe?)
5. Babies are taking over the world. (Seriously, where are they all coming from?!?! Reproduce a little slower, people)
6. Some people are engaged or married to people they didn't even know when I left. (This is crazy. How do you switch boyfriends/lovers/fiances/spouses in 3 weeks?)
7. Somebody (Kayleigh) likes my poopie earrings! YES! I'll make you some girl...just in a better color.
8. People love me and are excited about my return! (This makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy. Sending tons of love your way)
9. There are even more moms on facebook...and dads.
10. My husband knows almost all of the words to Karma Chameleon. (I didn't learn this on fbook, but I learned it about 30 minutes ago in my kitchen & I wanted an even top 10 list...PS: Should I laugh or cry about this??)

Here is a list of 10 things that have changed in my life since the fbook exodus:
1. We're moving!! (HIP HIP HOORAY!)
2. I'm rockin it in my online tech school English course. (a little ego boost)
3. I've begun crafting and I love it, even though I'm bad at it.
4. I have a significant amount of gray hair that I keep swearing to color but I don't have the nerve.
5. I passed my nursing entrance exam! (now I seriously have to decide if I want to go to nursing school)
6. I learned to crochet! (kind of related to #3, but we'll take it)
7. I went to Valdosta for some kind of band function. (not exciting, but I'm running out of things to write)
8. I'm not pregnant!! (but one of my best friends is!! you'll have to look back a couple posts to see who!)
9. I'm keeping my same spouse!! (He's shaking his head no...kidding! I love my hubby!)
10. I put on pajamas at 6:00pm today! (I'm running out of things to write, obviously)

Well, as you can see, things have been pretty darn exciting boring around here. I like boring though, I really do. Feel free to catch up on posts you have missed and leave me all kinds of adorable and loving comments. Now on to my new favorite show: Prison Break! Should've put that on the list because it is surely worth mentioning.

XOXO & lots of lists,
Hannah

It Has Come to my Attention...

...That I enjoy the discussion board for my American Literature class way too much. I think its because my professor used my thorough posts as examples of how to post and make a 4 (the highest grade). It may also be because I like feeling like I'm ahead of the game and seeing what others post makes me feel better. Yes, I said that. Might as well be honest on the old blog right?

Speaking of blog honesty...anybody remember Teen Open Diary? Of course we didn't call it Teen Open Diary, we called it TOD because we were so hip. That was like pre-blog blogging. Kind of Myspace'ish. You got to link up with your friends and post "diary" entries about what was going on in your not quite fabulous life! Except all it did was cause a lot of drama. What else were tween girls supposed to do though? There would be drama regardless, might as well make fun of somebody's cheesy TOD and their crush they talked about on. My TOD entries were always super lame. I specifically remember dedicating a blog to one of my 2-week boyfriends titled, "My Rainbow After the Rain." HAHAHAHAHAHA...amateur! My blog titles are so much cooler now! I would seriously pay money to get my hands on my old TOD, but I don't know if TOD exists or my username/password. Sad. And TOD no longer exists...just checked google. It is a sad day in my blog world!

Well now that I got on a big nostalgic rant and I'm completely unsure why I got on here in the first place, I'm going to go watch Prison Break. If you haven't seen it, check it out! It is incredible! Seriously, Netflix it!

Ooh, and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY BFF TIFFANY & THE LOVE OF HER LIFE, JOSH! I can't believe we've already hit a year, but I guess time flies when you're having fun! I love you both and wish you infinitely more years of incredible happiness & passionate love making. That is what married people do, right? Be happy & make love? Ok, I'm done. My mommy reads this & I don't want her thinking my hubby & I make love :)

XOXO & awkwardness,
Hannah

Something You Might Not Know About Me

I. Love. Mail.

I check the mail repeatedly, even if Tyler has already checked it for the day. You know, just in case. I brave the busy (ha, not) road, potential villains (also called snakes), and sometimes weather all for the joy of opening the mailbox. This is serious for me. I would hate to miss something that could be waiting for me in that mysterious opaque box across the road. All that to say today was a really good mail day for me. Let me show you my stash:

It's a poor picture, my camera died so its from my phone, but let me tell you about it. First, I got a rockin Pyrex pot holder that I signed up for after reading coupon websites and finding coupons that I never use. I had completely forgotten about it and was incredibly stoked to find a puffy envelope with my name on it in the box. It also has the 4 rules for using glass bakeware on the back, complete with illustrations. SCORE!

Moving clockwise, that next little envelope is to my step-sister-in-law's college graduation! That's a mouthful, isn't it? Perhaps this should be less exciting (because grad invitations are for money after all) but it means we've legit approached full-on adulthood status. We are no longer able to add our names to our parents' when sending graduation, wedding, baby, birthday, etc. gifts. We are grown. I know I said I was excited just two lines up, but I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this. We. Are. Grown. YIKES! Might as well accept it though, right?

Moving on, the "How to Have an Affair" sign is from our church! Did you just have to read that sentence twice?? That's the series that's kicking off on Easter Sunday--next weekend! COME WITH US!!! Don't even act like that little sign doesn't have you intrigued, because I'm sure it does. Heck I'm intrigued and I halfway know what to expect. Continuing around the mail clock is another letter from the church which is related to all of the things that have happened this quarter of the church year and more on Easter. God is working in TGC & you should really come be a part of it! (PS: Why do I always say that? I'm well aware that 99% of my readers are in Chatsworth & 5.5 hours is quite a long commute to go to church for one hour!! Oh well, we'll take you to dinner/lunch afterwards! And I hold out hope that somebody around here will read it!)

Last, I got a special card from my friend Sass AKA Sarah. It was addressed to Tyler & I, and contained a precious message + $20 to see a movie on her! Before I continue: Thank you Sassafras! Few people are as blessed as we are to have such thoughtful friends. I'm in awe. Oh, and teary-eyed, but that's a given right? Hopefully you know me that well by now. Back to talking to everyone: I wish you had a friend like Sarah. More than that, I wish I could be your friend like Sarah. How much do I wish I was that thoughtful? I never even think of doing things like that just to show people I love them. New goal: be like Sass. Why? Because it matters. Tiny gestures, like a card sent "just because," mean so much! Weeks challenge: everybody send me a card like Sarah with $20 in it....you know, so I'll know you care. Totally kidding, but why not send one to somebody else?! You could make their week! Maybe even their month/year! Sass, I'll let you know how we like Soul Surfer! Oh, Tyler says thanks too, of course!

That's it for my rockin' good mail day. Tyler got bunches of bills addressed to him...SUCKA!!!!!!!!!!!! I win! Back to work/packing/crafting/Netflix (you know I'm a busy girl!)!

XOXO,
Hannah

PS: In case I don't blog tomorrow....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. MELISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let the record show I remember your birthday without being reminded by facebook. I wish we could wire in some ponytail wigs (nevermind, you have awesome hair so you never had to do this) and do some ballet together to celebrate...perhaps you could convince Anthony to do it in my place? If so, send pictures.  Love you!

It's Official.

The Lipseys are moving to town!! Take that $3.70 gas prices!! Take that armadillos, mice, snakes, possums, squirrels, and lizards (all of which live with us, or dangerously close, at present)! I. Can't. Wait. We're moving to a little townhome in Tville that's much smaller than the ole farmhouse, but I think we'll both like it better. There's even a one-car garage!! YES! Obviously my sweet martyr of a husband will let me use said garage. We move in May 1st! HIP HIP HOORAY!

We're home from Valdosta now and hubby is packing playing video games while I do some work blog. We're really good procrastinators. Oddly enough, I'm procrastinating my return to facebook too. I want to get back on and I've started to do so about 5 different times, but for some reason I can't make myself. Probably because I know the monster I'll unleash when I log in just once!! Yikes.

Well, time for said work to be done, more later!!

XOXO,
Hannah