In Search of Direction...

This is not a post about weddings, or crafts, or fashion.

This is a post about me.

in case you forgot who that is...

Friday was a "snow day" for teachers and students in my district.  You see, many rural school systems in southwest Virginia plan school years that are longer than the number of days mandated by the state Department of Education because we usually miss several days due to snow.  This winter was unusually mild, so we did not use all of the snow days we had built into the schedule.  I suppose the district doesn't have the money to pay us to work that many days, so we get several days off this spring.  It is a rare situation for me to be at home while my husband is not; I spent most of Friday alone with my own thoughts.  I did a little workout video and sat on the patio with a book and a neighbor's cat after lunch, but most of the day was spent online looking at blogs and thinking about what I want my blogging identity to be.

my cat friend

I realized some time ago that, post-wedding, I did not really want to pursue the fleeting dream of being a freelance wedding planner, but still enjoy posting wedding inspiration to this blog.  However, I also enjoy rounding up inspiration for the wardrobe and the home, so I've expanded the focus from wedding planning to "Beyond the Aisle," the new title, which I think is still in keeping with the spirit of the original title "Not Just Brides," which I gave this blog when I was a bridesmaid falling in love with wedding planning and wanting to express the idea that a wedding is not just the bride's experience.  I guess "Beyond the Aisle" expresses the idea that a wedding blogger can have a voice after her own day as a bride has come and gone.  I didn't just change the name, but the colors, fonts, and template - a facelift for spring, if you will.

But something still doesn't sit right with me.  The topics of weddings, wardrobe, and home decor just seem so superficial sometimes, and they probably aren't what come to mind when people who know me in real life think of me.  I want my blog to be a place where I can do what I spend most of the day doing - helping others find their voices- but I'm not sure how.  I'm thinking of starting over from scratch.  That's why I need a little help from those of you reading this post.

I'm a daughter and an only child from a family full of cousins and stories and music.  I'm a wife to my best friend who is also a photographer and musician.  I'm a friend to a close-knit local group and a far-flung group of college friends.  I'm a renter who lives in a small town and loves to decorate antiques.  I'm on a budget and trying to spend less on clothes.  I'm trying to eat healthier and reach a healthy weight for my age and height.  I'm a middle school English teacher who tries to teach teenagers to be understanding of each other and to use their voices to change the world.  I'm a messy cook.  I'm a nerd who loves anything set in space, anything with multiple dimensions, comic book movies and YA books about magic and the future.  I'm a traveler who loves the water, art galleries, concerts, and color.

What do you want to read about here?  What posts of mine do you enjoy?  What could you do without?

Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you willing to help me out and lend your voices here.