How Do You Deal With Change?

Change. It happens to everyone at some point. Some of us enjoy it, some of us do not. It really depends on the situation for most. People deal with change in different ways. I deal with change by changing something else to get my mind off of the other change. Make sense? Probably not. Recently, I experienced some change that I wasn't too happy about. How I dealt with it: dying my hair purple... along with my two best friends. We documented it.. so here you go. How I deal with change:

Mary was first. Being at my mercy....

...she was a bit scared.

I was next...

And then there was Erin.

After 15 minutes, it was time to rinse. (It was cold apparently.) Anddd after some drying....

purple hair! (kind of.)

Typical Thanksgiving Post, Y'all.

Well, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Most people get so excited for Thanksgiving. They love the home made stuffing and the turkey and the gathering of their families and all that. Call me crazy, but rushing from house to house to house and stuffing myself so much that all I want to do is lay down isn't my idea of exciting. Maybe that's because I've forgotten what Thanksgiving is all about. It's not about showing up at the doorstep of your relative with a pie and then proceeding to eat four times more than you brought. It's about being THANKFUL. So whether you're like me or you're the one who jumps all over the thought of Turkey, remember the things that you appreciate.. the people that love you. Forget about the pumpkin pie for a second and give thanks. After all, thats what its all about.

Blithe Spirit, A Ghostly Comedy.

Everyone has a passion. Everyone has something that they love to do. My passion.. theatre. I feel compelled to pour out my heart onto this keyboard right now, so prepare yourself.. because this will probably be mostly me rambling.

Until theatre, I never really had alot of faith in myself. Let me rephrase that. After theatre came into my life (or I came into it's life rather..) I stopped doubting myself. There's just something about pretending to be someone else for a solid 2 1/2 hours. Something about singing your heart out on stage. Something about making a crowd laugh, gasp, cry, smile.. feel something. I'm sure I sound like a super freak right now.. But hey, It is what it is. Anyways, if i kept going on and on with how deeply in love I am with this activity, this would be the longest blog post in history. So, let me get to another point. The reason that I feel so compelled to share my love with you all is because I am currently doing a show. Not currently.. I mean I did one about 6 hours ago. The Theatre Society at my school (which I am extremely proud to call myself a part of) is performing Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit". I play the part of Elvira, the dead first wife. I'm sure most of you have no clue what that is. I know I didn't before it was introduced to me. But it's a wildly funny production about a writer who holds a seance in his home and accidentally brings his 1st wife back from the dead.

Tomorrow is closing night for the Blithe Spirit cast. It's sad to think that at 5pm tomorrow, we will be performing our last show. This experience has been a great one for me. While extremely humbling, it has been fun, sentimental, tiring, and so worth all the effort and practice and lost sleep due to memorizing lines. This is my first play... and what a great first it has been. I'm looking forward to many many more.

The whole Blithe Spirit cast including our fabulous director and the 2 greatest techies ever.

My best friend Erin and I. Erin plays the part of the mischevious maid, Edith.

My fantastic director. The evil genius behind it all. (P.S.- That's grey paint... I'm not that pale. Yet.)

Excuse My Cheezy-ness..

For those of you who don't know, this little man is my nephew, Braxton. Today was his first birthday party. You always hear the phrase "time flies"... but I've never really applied it to my life. It seems like not even that long ago, I was feeding this little guy a bottle. Now he's eating cupcakes on his own, giving me big sloppy open mouthed kisses, offering me slobbery cheese puffs, wobbling around everywhere (as opposed to running), and saying little fragments of words. It's so hard to believe. I'm not even sure where the time in between his birth and his first birthday went. It flew by. Today was a significant day for me. I've finally realized what people mean when they say "time flies". Happy first birthday, Braxton. Aunt Steph Steph loves you.

Oh, Hey Fall.

Fall is here! Well, supposedly. Even though it was about 80 degrees today in good ole Alabama, It is no longer summer. Fall is most definitely my favorite season. I love everything about it. Here are a few of my favorites as fall is just starting to materialize itself...

My cowboy boots. There isn't even much to say about them. I adore them and I jump at any chance to wear them.

Candles! I love candles any time of the year, but I especially love them during the colder seasons. Especially ones that smell like cinnamon, pumpkin, bonfires, etc. Sooo yummy.

Teaaaa! Ah, I am such a tea person. I'd take tea over coffee anyday. Unless of course the coffee was Starbucks, then I'd probably have to drink them both. Bigelow's Pomegranate Green Tea is my favorite.

As you all know, I am a nail polish fanatic. Actually, fanatic doesn't even describe me well enough. This is currently my favorite nail polish. Ingrid by China Glaze, a part of the Vintage Collection. It's much like You Don't Know Jacques by O.P.I., but with some gold shimmers. Sooo pretty!

The infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte. I could drink one every day. But because I care about my waist line, I treat myself every now and then.

SCARVES! If you know me at all, you know I'll wear a scarf any time of the year. With any article of clothing. I feel like I could never get enough. I just really like wearing them in the fall because I don't feel stupid. Versus wearing them in July and sweating to death. Which I am also willing to do.

My Toms. I have this exact pair; a birthday present from a friend. Love them soo much. I recieved them just in time.. because my old yellow ones had seen their day. So sad.

Skinnies! Love them. They're just perfect. Although it is extremely difficult for me to find a pair that fits right... considering the fact that my legs are really short, they're my second favorite thing to buy. And they fit perfectly into my BOOTS!

Yes, that is a cookie. It's a snickerdoodle. Probably the best baked creation ever. Its just a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar before its baked. So easy to make. They're delightful.

Over sized sweaters like this one make me so happy. They're so comfy and I wish i had one in every color. I'm working on that.

I'm not even sure if this perfume is meant for fall. But whatever. Burberry Weekend=<3 align="center">

And last but certainly not least, the scenery.

Yum.

"Most people are like: I'd die for chocolate! Not me. I'm like: F**k chocolate. Give me bacon and cheese."- Michael Buble

Jist discovered this quote. Another reason why I am in love with Michael Buble. Besides the fact that his voice is like nothing I have ever experienced in my LIFE and there are no words or phrases that are good enough to describe him, he'd rather have bacon and cheese than chocolate. God made this man just for me.

Forgiveness.

Webster defines forgiveness as "the act of pardoning somebody for a mistake or wrongdoing". Forgiveness. That is a very big idea isn't it? I mean, when you think about forgiveness, most people just think about saying sorry, and someone replying with "that's okay". But how often, when you apologize, do you hear someone say "I forgive you."? Not very often. I don't think people really know what forgiveness is anymore. Maybe they were really never taught. To me, forgiveness is accepting someone's apology, forgetting all about it, and loving them anyways. I try my hardest to do that. I have come to find that when you hold a grudge, it only hurts YOU. You walk around with this grudge weighing so heavy on your heart, and you are doing nothing but making yourself miserable. I have often heard people say (and said it myself.. many times) that the word "sorry" means nothing when you hear it so much. People throw around "sorry" like they throw around beer at a frat party. Does nobody understand the meaning of this word anymore? People say "sorry" not because they feel bad for the mistake that they have made, or how they have hurt you.. but only to shut you up. If you truly care about someone, you will learn how to forgive them. Nobody DESERVES forgiveness. Nobody deserves anything. But I can promise you, forgiving someone is alot easier than hating them forever. The Bible says that if your friend "sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns saying 'I repent', you shall forgive him." We all know that forgiveness is not always easy. When someone hurts you, it isn't easy to put it aside and love them anyways. But for the sake of your own happiness, learn what forgiveness is. And learn how to give it.

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."- Mahatma Gandhi