I've had more acne as an adult than I had as a teenager. After weaning babies, my skin's gone totally bonkers. I didn't even know about dermatologists until I had weaned my first baby, and my skin was so damaged. It was just beyond. And then, I realized, there's a whole doctor who can help you with this.
I am lucky to have had an attentive, curious and loving dad and heart-smart, down-to-earth, gifted mother. They changed the outlooks of their own lives and have never forgotten the people and organizations that helped them dream bigger than their circumstances should have allowed.
To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just wanted to be good in my company in Charleston and I wanted it to always be part of my life.
I was a ballet dancer and that kind of bled into musical theater. I was constantly in rehearsal for one thing or another.
Why does everyone think they need to be a star? It's ridiculous. The celebrity culture is so silly, and the fact that people grow up thinking that it's something to aspire to just seems wrong. I don't mean to bash my life. I love my life; I just think it's not the only way to go.
I know I live a charmed, beautiful life and nobody wants to hear a celebrity whine. The last thing I want to do is complain; I love what I do and I know every job comes with a downside.
My mother is a big believer in being responsible for your own happiness. She always talked about finding joy in small moments and insisted that we stop and take in the beauty of an ordinary day. When I stop the car to make my kids really see a sunset, I hear my mother's voice and smile.
My big sister Melissa, is such a stud and my little sister Suzanna, has always had a perfect body and big blue eyes. We were a force.
My parents started with very little and were the only ones in their families to graduate from college. As parents, they focused on education, but did not stop at academics - they made sure that we knew music, saw art and theatre and traveled - even though it meant budgeting like crazy.
We do a lot of crafting at our house. I don't even know how it got started because if you ask me, 'Are you crafty?' I would say, 'No...' but it's something that we just do.
And now, I still really don't care that much but now I have music playing all the time at home, which is a first for me. Whatever. Everything from Ani DiFranco to Dave Matthews to Jack Johnson and Norah Jones.
I want flowers; I don't want to text. What does that make me? What kind of dinosaur am I?
The last thing I want to do is complain; I love what I do, and I know every job comes with a downside. But boy, this one's a doozy...You pull out of your driveway, and the paparazzi literally chase you, running red lights - I'm a really careful driver, especially with my kids in the car, but I worry they're going to cause an accident.
I do like having my ears pierced, because there's a lot more choice in pierced earrings than there is with clip-ons, and they're a lot more comfortable to wear - Sometimes I completely forget I've got them in and end up going to sleep wearing them.
But I'll never be one of those women who feel that they always have to wear earrings and aren't properly dressed without them.
I'm a peace-maker, I can fit into a lot of situations. I'm pretty easygoing. I have a lot of patience.
I rebelled by not getting straight A's and not following the path that my elder sister did. She was valedictorian and is very exemplary in her way. I look a lot like her, so I just had to do the opposite. Not that I got bad grades, but I was all about performance and just finding any way that I could to be involved in any kind of production.
Beauty comes from a life well lived. If you've lived well, your smile lines are in the right places, and your frown lines aren't too bad, what more do you need?
I wish I was one of those cute pregnant girls who wear skinny jeans throughout their pregnancies. But I just gain weight.
No matter what, it is very tricky and difficult just to be a good parent at all. I have a lot of help. And for that I'm very grateful.
