The Dress...and a Bit More

Hello my lovelies! I'm still here in Charleston living it up. I swear you think of vacations as being relaxing, but I was thinking about it today and they are usually quite opposite! Or at least for me, I always try to take in as much as possible in the week that I am on vacation so I am worn out by activities every single day. But I like it that way, not complaining AT ALL!

Today I was up bright and early to fix up some breakfast before anyone else! We have been having a fight over the bananas (that I bought for ME) and I knew that there was only half of one left. Hey, you snooze you lose...especially when it comes to food, right?!

1 cup Special K, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 banana. Along with a nice cup of coffee.

Here was my view while I ate:

Everyone was pretty much burnt to a crisp after three straight days of hours in the sun, so we decided that today would be an indoor shopping day.

We ventured over the bridge again into Charleston for the MALL!

When we got there everyone was ready for lunch. Luckily there was a semi-healthy option in the mall in the form of a Jason's Deli.

I had the Mediterranean Wrap under the "Real Choices" menu. It had oven roasted turkey breast, roasted red pepper hummus, cucumbers, purple onions, kalamata olives, roma tomatoes and organic field greens in an organic wheat wrap. I got the baked chips on the side as well.

The wrap was actually really really good! I needed the fuel for shopping so I ate it up!

Sooooo here is the moment you have all been waiting for. The KILLER dress that I got at Urban Outfitters. I think it just scream "PAR-TAY".

Did I mention that I am a total sucker for snake skin?! And short black dresses?!

Here is a close up of the detail:

And here is someone who is totally NOT me, wearing it. Just so you get the full effect.

I am pretty sure that I am going to rock it tomorrow night when my sister and I go out on the town for sushi and dancing!

Oh yeah...did I mention that I got some KILLER shoes to match too?

And they were buy one get one for $10 AND like I said, I am a sucker for snake skin...so I had to buy another pair in a slightly different style and different color.

Cute huh?! You girls like?!

After shopping for solid four hours, my sister and I headed back home. But not before stopping off at a little place on the way back...

Some of you might be familiar, not sure...

Thats right bloggies, I am no longer a Whole Foods virgin. It was my first time *blush*

Now the little sisters and the moms and pops are down at the pool. My other sister and I are about shopped out so we opted to chill out in the room and watch some tube-age.

Hopefully dinner is soooon! I really wanna go get some yummy seafood!

Hope everyone is doing grrreat! Im trying to catch up on blogs as we speak. Love you guys to death!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Go Go Go Gurrl

Good Morning my loves! I was def. a girl on the go yesterday and I could not be happier about that. Don't you just love it when you get those things that you have been putting off FOREVER done?! I know I do.

So my day started off with some breakfast and the writing/research for my last post.

Cherry Yogurt with Sliced Banana

Whole Wheat Toast with Apricot Preserves...notice the outline for my post in the background...yes I make outlines, yes I am a teacher!

After breakfast I did some MAJOR remodeling in my house. My roommate and I are turning one of the rooms downstairs into an office for me. Because currently my laptop-ing is done on the dining room table. I wish I had a before picture of this room because it was HELL! But after literally HOURS of work, look at it now:

Here are some key points to notice about this room:

• I displayed my first book that I recieved from student teaching for my classroom library on the shelves. It is Curious George and the Fire Truck, because I did a unit on fire trucks for the whole six weeks of student teaching!
• The drawers on the shelve are animal print...so is just about anything else in our house.
• My diploma is meticulously placed on the the table. I need to frame it.
• For now I am doin it Japanese style and sitting on the floor at the table, but today my mom is supposed to be bringing me a desk.

So there you have it. The fruits of my labor!

After I finished that up it was time for some FOOD!

Turkey Wrap on Italian Herb Flat-Out

After lunch I got ready and went to work to check out a new shipment of dresses that we got in!

Which reminds me...a lot of you asked about my shirt from a few posts ago (the one with the back cut-out) and I got it from the clothing store that I work at...MAXRAVE. Currently I don't think that you can order online, but you can go to maxravestores.com and find out where the closest store to you is.

When I got done with lunch I sat down to download some new music for my runs. I had been listening to the same songs over and over for way to long. I don't know about you, but music is everything when it comes to my workouts. If I am bored with the music, I usually get bored with the workout and quit sooner. If I have something fun and upbeat to listen to and hold my attention, I can go WAY harder and longer. (thats what she said!...right Brooke?).

So here are some of the new songs that I downloaded.

1. Madcon - Beggin'
2. The Dream - Walkin' on the Moon
3. Mario - All the Above
4. Keri Hilson - Knock You Down
5. Jennifer Hudson - Spotlight (Remix)
6. Ciara - Never Ever
7. Metric - Gold Guns
8. Lil Wayne - At War
9. Lupe Fiasco - Real
10. The Decemberists - Oh Valencia

There are lots more, but that is what I have currently been playing. Quite the mix. I never just listen to one genre of music. There is so much good music out there...why limit yourself?!

Last nights dinner was spaghetti at the parents house. My mom makes the BEST spaghetti, but like they say on Sesame Street "Its a SOMETIMES food". But I think that may be just about every meal eaten at the parents. haha.

This morning I am enjoying a bowl of "Banana Pancake Oats" and a laptop full of blogs.

For those of you who were wondering "Banana Pancake Oats" is just a simple recipe, but it reminds me of banana pancakes.

• 1/2 cup Oats
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Soy Milk
• 1/2 Banana
• 1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
• LOADS of Cinnamon

I plan on a run later...gotta rock the new jams! My 5k is coming up and I really wanna run it in less than 28 min. My friend Ben has challenged me, but he claims he can run it in 22 minutes. I can't hang with that...but I think he may be lying ;)

Hope everyone is having a MARVELOUS day!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Whhhatt??!!

Have I really not posted since Monday?! I knew that it had been a couple of days, but geez. I'm so sorry that I have been such a slacker.

I am still resting my knee because I don't want to mess it up even more by running on it too soon, so I'm gonna wait until its 100%. Me (being the stupid, stubborn girl that I am) decided that it would be a good idea to run 3 miles on Tuesday and on Wednesday at work, I was almost in tears by how bad my knee hurt. I have been icing it, wrapping it, resting it, giving it some good ol TLC. I just hope it gets better soon!!

Honestly, I have nothing really of interest to post...which is why I guess I have been avoiding it. But here are a couple of key points that have happened over the course of the week:

• Mike came back in the picture...sort of...in the form of some weird and confusing texts.
  
• Lucas went out of the picture...mainly because of the above mentioned...and because he is staying at school for the summer to play ball and attend summer school.
  
• I got a call for a phone interview tomorrow from a really awesome school in Charlotte, NC!! Im going to be brushing up on my interview questions all day today.
• I played pool last night, totally killed the first game...then got slaughter for the next two.
• Got tatted up

haha. just kidding, its fake. I got WAY to bored yesterday. But my sister pointed out that that would be a cool place for a tattoo, and I think I agree. I have always wanted to get a tattoo of an OWL (because that is the symbol of education) and possibly the words "carpe noctem" (thanks for the heads up Mica, yes thats what a meant...typo! haha) which is Latin for seize the night. I liked the phrase "carpe diem" but thought that was too cliche...and night goes with owls, so its perfect!

• Of course I made some wraps:

My mom bought me some groceries, so I got the good expensive kind of pickles, that I would never buy on my own :)

Since I really have nothing else to post and I just did the 25 things about myself...I thought it would be fun to do an "interview" type post next, but with different questions from you guys. A "FAQ" post, if you will. Hey, everyone else has done it...ITS MY TURN! So ask me anything! You can e-mail me or leave me a comment with your question if you would like. Whatever floats ya boat.

Time for breakfast and another cup-o-crack...errr...I mean coffee.

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Meeting the New Man...

Thats right, I met a new man in my life yesterday, and he is one handsome man at that!

One of my very best friends in the whole world just had this HUGE bundle of joy yesterday and I could not be happier for her. I freaked out when I got her message that her water had broken yesterday morning at 6 A.M...he was almost 2 weeks early! But everything went great and mom and baby are doing wonderfully. Pretty much my whole day yesterday was spent hangin' with the new man. I just couldn't get enough.

The proud Daddy

And the beautiful Mommy.

I just could not be happier for her and I know that her and Chris will make awesome parents. I can not wait to see what the future holds for them! Happy Birthday Lincoln Maddox!!!

So like I said before, most of my day was spent in the hospital. I stayed there until right before work at 5. I did run home to make some lunch before work though.

You guessed it...a WRAP!

I didn't get in a workout because of all the excitement today, but thats OK because my knees are still hurting a little. I think I may ice them up again and rest one more day. Any advice or tips on helping my poor knees?!

Today I am up bright and early. Why? I have no idea, but there has to be SOME reason that I wanted to get up and start the day this early. So, lets see what the day brings!! My horoscope is telling me that today I will have a brilliant idea. hmmm.

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday.

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Wed-Nezzz-Day

Good Morning Loves! FINALLY its Wednesday right?! Does anyone else feel like this week has gone by ULTRA slow?! When I was little (as in last year) I could never remember how to spell Wednesday, so now everytime I write it I say to myself "wed" "nezz" "day", because that's how its spelled! haha. Hey, whatever works right? It the same with the word "beautiful"...that's a hard one too.

Anyway, no news yet on the job thing. But, I'm thinking its still too early. Most of the schools said they would call within a couple of weeks, and my Aunt said that sometimes she doesn't get calls until a couple of weeks before schools starts. But I am still hot on the job trial. I have been putting in applications ALL OVER!

More exciting news...I have a beach trip planned! OH YES! We are going to Charleston (my favorite place ever) from May 31st until June 6th. Only 39 more days...let the countdown begin!

Yesterday I got in a really good run. I decided to just start running and let my body tell me how far it wanted to go, I ended up doing 6 miles so I was happy with that.

Can I just tell you guys how much running has really helped me with my food issues?! It has been so good for me, because I am looking at food in a whole other way. During my ED I would look at food as something to be "scared" of or something that would make me gain weight...etc, etc. But now I look at food as something that fuels me for runs and makes my body stronger. I look at it as something that is working with me to make me a better running, not working against me. This is totally a new revelation and a HUGE step in my recovery. I have been so happy with what running as done for me. Because I want to be a better runner, I want my body to be stronger.

Still on the subject of running...how awesome is it that my roommate's new boyfriend is a rep for athletes, especially runners...and he just so happens to be a rep for Ryan Hall, the 3rd place finishers of the Boston Marathon! Maybe I could meet him! haha.

Speaking of food...I used the last of my Flat-Out Wraps yesterday! Time for a Wal-Mart trip today, I suppose.

This HAS to be my favorite lunch:

• Italian Herb Flat-Out
• Spicy Mustard
• Turkey
• Spinach
• Tomato
• Salsa
• Side of Soy Crisps

I had dinner over at the parents house last night because it had been a while since I visited. My mom made crab cakes and salad. Why is food always so much better when your mom makes it?!

This morning I fixed up the usual fruity oats.

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
• Chopped Strawberries
• Blueberries
• 1/2 Banana
• Cinnamon

Today plans are either running or cross training or maybe yoga...I haven't quite decided yet. But it looks like it may be a pretty day, so I will probably have to take advantage of that. Thankfully there are only a few days left of this rainy month. Then of course tonight is pool night.

Hope everyone is having a great Mid-week! Lots of Love

<3 Ems.

Nashville Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I am leaving for Nashville for the weekend to attend an education career fair! My aunt teaches down there and she got hired at this same career fair last year, so I'm really hoping that this could be my big break! I really really really need this, a good job, a new city...it would be GREAT! Everyone please say a pray for me and wish me luck, I need all that I can get!!!

So yesterday was filled with prep work for tomorrow. I printed of a zillion copies of my resume, cleaned out my car, checked my oil, pumped up my tires, and filled up my gas. Everything is a GO!

I am also excited because Lucas goes to school in between where I live and Nashville, so I will be stopping by to see him on my way there tomorrow. He has been really sick since last weekend, so I am glad that I will get to see him for a little bit. Why is it that guys convert into a 2 year old state when they are sick?! haha. I swear they would not know what to do without their moms/girlfriends/wives/sisters/etc. Women just know how to take care of sickly people! haha. I'm going to put together a "get-well kit" for him.

After yoga on Tuesday, my legs and muscles were feeling really good and stretched, so I was ready for a run! Ok, I'll be honest my legs and arms were freakin SORE from yoga!! Everytime I do yoga I get more sore than any other exercise that I do. I guess its all that bending and stretching. So I warmed up a little on the eliptical and then moved to the treadmill. Here was my workout:

• 35 Minutes on the eliptical
• 4 mile run on the treadmill at an east pace.

I got in a pretty good workout, so I was happy with that.

Yesterday for lunch I made what is becoming my favorite wrap combo:

• Italian Herb Flat-Out Wrap
• Swiss Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge
• Sliced Cucumber
• Sliced Tomato
• Spinach
• Dijon Mustard

After my day of preparation I hoped in the shower and got ready for POOL NIGHT! Yep, the Wednesday night tradition. I am really starting to sharpen up my pool skillzz.

Just look at that form! haha.

Opponent #1

Opponent #2

Opponent #3

We got beat, maybe next time.

Fast forward to this morning where I once again sacrificed my chances of living to be 130 by eating cottage cheese everyday in order to mix up my meals. But, it was worth it!

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 Banana
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• Strawberries, chopped
• A Few Cinnamon Mini Rice Cakes crumbled on top.

Oh yeah! And check out these awesome card that I got in the mail yesterday from Foodbuzz

They are little mini cards for my blog, and on the back are pictures of all kinds of foods and drinks. I LOVE THEM!

Alright, I still have a lot to get done today before I leave tomorrow. I am soo excited about my trip. Is it weird that I actually like driving long distances by myself?! Its a five hour drive...so I am off to update my Ipod, vacuum my car, go for a run, then workin it at the mall.

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Family Fun (Ultra Cheese Alert)

This Easter was so much fun. I pretty much spent all day with the family, going to church, eating an Easter worthy lunch, and going Easter egg hunting. Also, about and hour of that time was spent taking funny (and SUPER cheese-y) pictures with the fam. Ch-ch-check it!

ok. this was posed. But she was DETERMINED to get that egg.

My little sister, Tatum, was ruthless. She was pretty much in full on sprint the whole time trying to get to the eggs before everyone else.

All of the sissys. Notice how out of place I look. haha.

Here's were I started thinking of funny, cheese-y poses for us to do.

Heres another

AND ANOTHER! haha

My sisters fell backwards off the bench when I thought it would be a good pose to put their feet up in the air. oops.

She was OK!

Action Shot!

My parents. Aren't they just the cutest?!

Fast forward to today. I was SUPER ready to get back into the swing of things after pigging out on Easter candy and Ham yesterday. So I was happy to have my usual breakfast when I woke up.

Half a cup of fat free cottage cheese with Blueberries mixed in and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

Whole Wheat Toast with Blackberry Preserves AND Apricot Preserves. Unfortunately my indecisiveness extends past the breakfast table and into my regular life.

After breakfast I FINALLLY got to the grocery store. I was kind of anxious to go to the grocery store because of a funny story that happened this weekend. First a little back story the guy who works in the produce section of the grocery store is super CUTE, I had a class with him in college, so I know him and everytime I go to the grocery store we usually talk. Ok got that?! Good. Now the funny part:

Saturday night my friend Brittani and I hit up one of our favorite dance spots. We usually just dance by ourselves and generally are bitches to any creeps that try to come hit on us. Anyway, there was this guy that kept trying to get my attention while I was dancing, but I kept giving him mean looks and blowing him off. He didn't stop, so finally I look over to say something......and realize it is my produce boy!! Me being a little "braver" than usual (if you catch my drift) ran over and gave him a big hug to say hi. Now we have made small talk in the produce section of Kroger before, but NEVER took it as far as physical contact (just a hug!) in a CLUB before. hahaha. I guess you could say I was a little embarrassed to see him again in the grocery store.

Well, I successfully made my grocery trip, saw the produce boy, smiled, made small talk, and went on my merry way. Geez, that was awkward. haha :)

Came home from the grocery store, unloaded, chopped, bagged, and stored the groceries. Then made up a quick lunch. I tried a new wrap combo!

• Italian Herb Flat Out Wrap
• Swiss Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge
• Sliced Cucumber
• Sliced Tomato
• Spinach
• Dijon Mustard
• Quacker Oats Cheesey Mini Rice Cakes

YUM! I really liked this combo alot! It was very fresh and just plain good.

After lunch I went to a meeting about proctoring for standardized testing in the elementary schools. It is volunteer and not paid or anything, but it would be fun.

Then I went over to the gym to get a little run in.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a long run or a short run, so I decided just to hop on and see how I felt. After a miles I set my goal at 5 miles, but after I finished 5 I wanted to do one more, so I ran 6 miles in all. The only that SUCKS about doing long runs at the gym is that the treadmills are automatically set to cool down after 30 minutes, so I had to constantly reset it to keep it from slowing me down. Oh well.

Now I'm off to cook up some dinner and probably lounge around for the rest of the night. I hope everyone had a good Monday. I know, Mondays generally are bad. But, its almost over!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Grocery Goodies, Reviews, and Runs

Ok, so I'm pretty sure that today actually is Saturday as opposed to yesterday, when I tried to declare it Saturday morning, when in fact, it was Friday. So, I hope everyone is having a great Saturday! So far, mine is going great. Its sunny and warm outside and I just got done with a great run and a great lunch for fuel!

Lets back track to yesterday though. Before work I went to the grocery store for some essentials. We were practically out of everything, so I picked up some basics.

Fruits:

• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Mangos
• Fuji Apples

Veggies:

• Roma Tomatoes
• Purple Cauliflower! I couldnt resist :)
• Cucumber
• Salad Mix

I found a new flavor of flat out wraps that I have not tried yet. Sundried Tomato. I had it for lunch, so I will give my review.

Miscellaneous Items:

• Oikos Greek Yogurt in Vanilla and Blueberry
• Annie's Mac and Cheese (on sale for a buck!)

After the grocery store, I was ready for some lunch. So, like I said I had to try out the new flat out wraps. Usually when I make wraps I put lots of "condiments" such as spicy mustard and salsa and then heat it up, so its kinda gooey and spicy. Today I was feelin' more of a fresh, clean, cold wrap. Heres what I came up with:

• Sundried Tomato Flat Out Wrap
• Regular Hummus
• Turkey Slices
• Chopped Tomato
• Sliced Cucumber

On top of this I added tons of spinach and rolled it up to create this:

Totally hit the spot :)

Review of Sundried Tomato Flavor Flatout:

This was the first time that I have tried this flavor, and I was pretty let down. Don't get me wrong, it wasnt BAD...but I thought that it was gonna be AMAZING! Maybe I built it up too much, but I was not impressed. The Italian Herb flavor is 10 times better, so I think I will stick to that. I will not buy this flavor again. It was my least favorite of the three flavors I have tried.

After lunch I got ready and went to job #1 (Rave) until around 930, when my cute little baseball player came and picked me up and took me to the movies. We saw I Love You, Man. And it was hilarious. I have been in love with Paul Rudd ever since he was Josh in Clueless. haha. The date went really well...and I even think that I am going out with him for date #3 tonight! He is leaving to go back to school tomorrow, so we are kinda "speed" dating.

This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunny day, just as my favorite weather man had promised. I ate breakfast (cottage cheese and toast) you know, you know. Then headed over to my favorite trail for a run. I was ready for a long run, because I had taken the past two days off after my 7.5 mile run two days ago. I DID 9 MILES!! This is a new record as far as distance for me, and I was happy with it. I finished in a little over 90 minutes. Heck yes, my endurance is building...I never thought it would happen!

I have said this before and I will say it again, in my totally not back up by any scientific evidence opinion , Peanut butter and banana are the PERFECT combo for energy and fuel after a long run. Or at least thats what works best for me. So of course I had to have this little number for lunch after my long run.

Grilled "Gourmet" PB&J:

• Whole Wheat Bread
• Naturally Nutty Peanut Butter (2 tbsp.)
• 1/2 Banana
• Cinnamon and Raisins mixed into the peanut butter
• Strawberry Preserves

Blueberry Flavored Oikos Greek Yogurt

This is the first time that I have tried the Blueberry flavor and WOW! This stuff is freakin' amazing. It had little blueberries in it and everything. I think so far it is my favorite!

Now I have to book it to get ready for work, so I'll catch you gals later!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.