10 year anniversary

We always thought we'd go back to Italy-- where we honeymooned-- for our 10th anniversary.  With a 1 yr old, 4 yr old, and 7 yr old and a very tight budget... not happening!

I wanted to mark it somehow, though.  It's BIG!  Unlike a birthday, 10 years of marriage means you put in some serious work (or are miserable and lazy?), I don't know-- but, to me, it's a big milestone!

So... my friend came over and took some pictures of me showing my daughters my wedding dress for the first time out of that box-- the box that looks like you shouldn't even touch the box let alone open it.

Then we took a few pictures under the big tree in our yard.  When my husband and I got married 10 years ago, it was under the big tree in his parents' yard, so it seemed fitting.  I like to see where we were 10 years ago and now.

Happy 10th Anniversary to us!

To Dye or Not to Dye?

I dyed my hair for the first time when I was 17.  Pitch black.  I loved it.
I continued dying my hair all through college-- not often, but maybe 1-2x per year.

6 weeks before my wedding, I decided it'd be nice to have red highlights when the sun hit at my outdoor ceremony... bad idea.  Somehow my hair turned orange with a dark brown/red highlights color.  It took 3 visits over the next few weeks to get it back to my natural color before my wedding day... and a TON of cash.  So, the last time my hair was dyed was over 10 years ago, September 2004, just weeks before I was married.

I'll be 35 in a few weeks.   have a sprinkling of gray hair.. a few for every couple inches of air I have. I've been thinking more and more about whether or not to dye it, or let it go natural.  I love my natural color and want to keep it as long as possible.  I also want to know at what point I'd be completely gray... if I start dying it, I won't really know when that is or what it will look like.  Letting my hair naturally evolve into whatever comes next feels like the right move for me... but I'm nervous about looking older, sad about losing a color that's been mine for 35 years, and a feeling the pressure from societal norms to just dye it... and frankly, I don't want the expense.
I guess I'll take it one hair at a time.  What I do know is that I don't really want to grow it out after dying it... it's just not as graceful to see that exact beginning and end.
I hope I'm brave enough to go where my hair takes me.

Update October 2015:  I dyed just my roots in time for our anniversary... so I went a good 11 years without dying!  And I'll be 36 in a week.

Shared Closet for 2 Girls

The closet in my girls' room is on the smaller side.

We have no extra storage in this house, so all of their stuff needs to get stored there.

We also get a nice amount of hand me downs, sometimes stuff that won't be worn for 3 more years.

I bought clothes dividers from Amazon... They were about $1 apiece when you factor in shipping.

We bought two brackets and found a tension rod we'd had and made it a rod just for school uniforms to stay organized.  The whole project with new rod and clothes dividers was $15 even.

Comfort zones

I was thinking today how overwhelmed I was in my early 20s by all the things I hadn't yet explored-- or even found out about.  I remember someone telling me "It's just as important to find out what you don't like as it is to find out what you DO like."  That's good advice.  Looking back on my college and immediate post-college graduation years--- it took awhile to figure out what I liked and what I didn't-- it sounds so easy... like checking boxes... but it isn't.  Especially if a lot of peers like something and you feel you SHOULD.

But there is a gift in the not knowing... it means everything is a possibility.  This is also overwhelming, but as I've aged, and figured out what I like and don't like-- I realize I can get a bit too comfortable saying no to things I don't like.  I don't think I should necessarily try them JUST because they aren't in my comfort zone-- but constantly putting yourself in situations that might risk discomfort is maybe what keeps you young?  Or fosters bursts of growth, maybe?