DINA HALL

Last week I got a haircut. Because of scheduling conflicts, it was a little earlier than my usual every three weeks. I hate it when I go too long in between haircuts because then I have to worry about how big it’s gonna look in pictures – especially on humid days. Fascinating, I know. Anyway, I had to have the early appointment because I knew there would be photographers at the music awards show, and the last thing I wanted was to have big, fat hair blow up all over Facebook. It turned out to be a very good decision.

About the music awards.

Once again, I’d like to say thank you for the overwhelming nominations of 2013 Lehigh Valley Music Awards in ten categories. While you might think that’s easy to do in these days of campaigning for a win, I didn’t solicit nominations or votes. That’s what makes this meaningful.

I’m pleased and proud to announce that I was awarded three honors at the Lehigh Valley Music Awards on Sunday. Best Singer/Songwriter, Best Original Song – Woman in Me, and a Directors’ Award for Community Involvement.

If you happened to be at the event, you saw my complete look of surprise when the awards were announced. A posse of photographers captured the moment, including The Express-Times. I can’t post any of them here, but the best one I’ve seen so far was taken by Diane Richter. (link to photo by Diane Richter on Facebook)

More of these photos seem to show up every day, which, if you haven’t figured it out by now, is the reason why the haircut was such a good decision, and why the intro to this post is relevant and even mildly entertaining. Professional photographers now own my image and can sell the photos. I haven’t quite come to terms with this yet, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. Dress sharp. Fresh haircut. Makeup. Shoulders back, chest out. Smile.

Oh, it’s so easy to digress. Back to the gratitude at hand.

From my Facebook post the morning after the music awards, on Monday 12/3:

“Oh my goodness. I’m still floating pretty high this morning. So much goodness last night at the Lehigh Valley Music Awards.

First of all, thanks so much for the Directors’ Award for Community Involvement. I share that honor with my parents – who taught me the value of giving to the community. My sister, brother and I all learned that from them and continue to live our lives that way.

Secondly, performing with Moe Jerant, Mike Fritz and Scott Siska was absolutely transcendental. I was not in my own body – not on that stage. Instead, I felt as if I was sitting up in the balcony, entranced, chair dancing, singing along to my very own songs. It was magic. I’ll be uploading some video later this morning.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you so much to anyone and everyone who voted. Being nominated is a real treat, but taking home an award is truly an honor. Best Singer/Songwriter, Best Original Song – Woman in Me. This is motivational!”