it's the weekend!

and it's been a pretty big one for me! i had a birthday, but the real news is...eleven inches of my hair came off yesterday and got sent off to locks of love! i haven't had any more than a trim in at least eight years, so this was, as they say, kind of a big deal. i guess i'd been wanting to cut it for a long time, and i finally worked up the nerve (and grew it long enough) to do it - gone!, just like that. chandra, the woman in the picture holding what used to be attached to my head, was wonderful. a couple short hours and a good dose of salon gossip later, we were finished. since i was making such a big change, i figured the color might as well be something brand new, too. it's going to take some getting used to, but so far, i'm loving the new 'do. i went with my parents tonight for a delicious dinner at del frisco's double eagle steakhouse here in houston. the food was outstanding! crab cakes, filet mignons, and banana bread pudding - yes, please! i feel so lucky that i still have my parents close enough to get to spend lots of time with them. as my birthday weekend draws to a close, i'd just like to send out a huge thank you and an even bigger i love you to my mom and dad. they've done more for me than i could have ever deserved, shown me over and over again what real, unconditional love looks and feels like, and they have never given up on this work in progress. thanks, mom and dad, for turning me into the woman i am today. i hope i'm a daughter you're proud to claim, because i'm sure proud to have you for parents. i love y'all!