FULL Day!

I am EXHAUSTED girls and guys! Today has been quite the active day. Fun, but major tiring.

It started out at 7 this morning with another 4 mile run on the trail from the condo. I am really gonna miss this trial when we leave! When I got back to the condo everyone was up and eating breakfast.

My breakfast was a repeat of yesterday. All Bran Flakes, Banana, blueberries, and Skim milk.

Repeat Pic!

After Breakfast we all got ready and headed across the bridge into downtown Charleston:

We hit up all the shopping for a little while. I went to American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. I got the BEST dress EVER at UO. I'll get a pic a little later to show.

After doing a little shopping my sister and I decided to break from the fam and go have lunch on our own. Like I said, my family does not like anything "different", they like your typical chain restaurants. My sister and I just weren't feelin it, so we decided to go to Five Loaves Cafe, recommended by the wonderful Erica.

I got a Grilled Tofu sandwich with zuchinni, tomato, onion, and sprouts. And a salad with roasted red peppers, spinach, tomatos, and goat cheese.

YUM!

Here is a closer look at the sandwich:

My sister and I really enjoyed our lunch. We were both really glad that we decided to go off on our own and eat here.

Here we are, happy with our decision:

After lunch we met back up with the family and went to the market place in Charleston.

This is one of my favorite things to do when we come down here. It is an old market place that goes on for what seems like miles and it is just set up with vendors and hand made goods like jewelry, decorative things, etc.

Here is a pic of the entrance:

Here is my sister and I after going through. Hot and tired. I swear we probably walked about 10 miles in the 90 degree weather!

After that we walked into Charleston place were all the upscale shops are.

Made a stop at me usual shopping place:

YEAH RIGHT! I'm a recent college grad with no full time job yet...remember?!

We also saw a pretty fountain and I HAD to have a picture of all the sissies in front of it.

Notice how different we all look from each other. Or maybe just how different I look from all of them. I swear I must be the milk man's child!

After hours of shopping, miles of walking, and TONS of sweating we came back to the condo and chilled out by the pool. Now I am in the room waiting for everyone to get in from the beach so we can get some dinner!

I just don't think I EVER wanna come home. I think I may convince my parents to just leave me here ;)

Hope you guys had a good start to your week. Again, Im sorry if I am not on top of commenting. I am trying to read blogs and comment when I get the chance. DONT think I am forgetting about you guys at all!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Greetings from Charleston!

Hello my dears. I am just sitting here in the condo chilling out after a VERY active day on the beach!

I woke up bright and early and walked out to the balcony to this lovely site:

I threw on my tennys and headed out for a nice run. We are staying in a gated community with a great running trial, so I couldn't wait to hit it up. The whole path is shaded with trees too, so it didn't get too hot. I ran from out condo to the end of the community and back. When I got back I hit up map my run and found out it was an even 4 miles.

When I got back to the condo I fixed up some breakfast. Here is the problem though, guys. It is REALLY hard to eat the foods that I like when I am with my family. Most of the food they like is not the healthiest, I had to get my own loaf of wheat bread for sandwiches, if that gives you any ideas. I want to just enjoy my vacation and not have to worry about it too much. I am trying to make the healthiest choices that I can, though. What would you guys do?

Anyway here is what I managed to rustle up for a healthy breakfast:

All-Bran Flakes, Skim Milk, 1/2 Banana, and Blueberries.

After breakfast we hit the beach for some wave riding, tanning, and swimming

AHHHH

We came back up around 1 to break for lunch. The best thing I could get was a turkey sandwich on wheat bread and an apple. It was sad, so I didn't take a picture.

Then back to the beach! It was sooo much fun. We stayed in the ocean and tried to ride the waves with the boogy boards. At one point I got dragged completely under and when I came back up my boob was TOTALLY out of my bathing suit. I'm not sure if anyone saw or not. OH WELL!

After that we came back up and spent wayyy too long getting ready. My sister and I got pretty and went down to Charleston for a while.

But not before watching the sunset:

Now its time for bed so it can start all over again tomorrow. Today was only day 1 peeps!

Prepare for WAY more pics! Sorry if I'm absent from commenting a lot this week. I have been living it up on the beach all day and haven't had too much time on the computer. I DO miss you guys though!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems

Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture

Oh man! This weekend has just been crrazzzyy! I feel like I have pretty much gone non-stop. But I kept getting invites to do things, and if you know me you know I am always up for a fun time and when one of my friends wants to go out, I rarely say no.

Last night my friend Tina wanted to go out on the town, so of course she didn't have to twist my arm. Do I feel some pics about to go down?! I do think so.

We met up with some friends at a local bar downtown.

We laughed sooo hard at this picture because Josh failed at every attempt to take a decent picture. This was his worst shot. haha he is actually pretty cute, but he looks like a creep-o in this picture. Here are several more attempts.

Then I had to show him just how a great picture is taken:

As the night went on several more people showed up to hang out and I saw a lot of old friends. I tend to put the camera away after a few drinks though, because things tend to get a little difficult to keep up with after that. haha.

P.S. Aren't the little Polaroid cool? My friends told me about this program that you can find and download here. I just love it! Its so cool, this little camera pops up and all you do is drag and drop your pictures into the camera and out pops your Polaroid from your camera. Of course, you have to wait for the picture to develop. No shaking!

Today is a catch up day for sure, after that wild weekend. I woke up and fixed up some blueberry waffles with sliced banana and strawberries and maple syrup.

Then for lunch I was craving something just warm and good and comforting. What did I come up with?!

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana DUH!

And just to show the ooey gooey goodness of the sandwich I present to you evidence #1

mmmmm

Also, this morning I was surfing the web for some owl tattoo ideas and check out what I found!

Its the tattoo that I described! An owl with the text "carpe diem", except I want "carpe noctem" and I want it a little smaller...and def somewhere less noticeable than smack dab on my arm. But other than that, thats it! I kinda thought it was an original idea, but guess not. haha. I still like it though...what do you guys think?

Ok Now its time for cleaning, running, tanning, and shopping with the sis. Then I gotta get up early to substitute teach for a Kindergarten class. AHH!!!

Hope everyone is having an awesome, relaxing Sunday.

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Confusion Control

Good Saturday morning! How is everyone this morning?! Wild night last night? My night was pretty fun. One of my friends owns a vintage clothing store called Betty Janes. And they had a fashion show last night at this local club and it was sooo much fun! They got really crazy and threw out T-shirt and stuff. I totally picked up a yager shirt that my friend Brad threw out. haha. Here are some pictures from it:

The stage all set up

Theres Brad!

My friend Aaron

We were also celebrating the return of my friend Ben back to the states from his 4 month adventure back packing through South America. I just love this guy.

Josh is happy that he is home too.

OK NOW FOR THE STUFF YOU GUYS WERE WONDERING ABOUT!! I know that if you have just started reading this blog, you were probably SUPER confused by my last update. SO I will get you peeps back up to speed.

1. Boys - A lot of you were wondering who Mike is. Well, to make a long story short Mike is a guy that I had been long-distance dating for about a year. We met when he was traveling through my town for his work. He is a motorcycle mechanic and he was traveling with a group of Motocross guys while they competed all over the U.S. He was here for about a month, we hung out everyday...he left, immediately bought a plane ticket to come back here when he was finished working, and then later I went to visit him in California. (reference here). We talked on the phone everyday and then about a month ago he just disappeared. I knew that he was going through a lot of stress with his job and some other stuff, so I just left him alone. Yeah, I was hurt because I liked him a lot. But I knew the best thing to do was just to let him do his thing and not bug him and just move on. Well, like I said...he came back into the picture about a week ago. Not sure how much he is back into my life, but I care about him so much that I know I want him to be there, even if it is just as friends. But we will see.
2. The Interview - My phone interview for the school in Charlotte was yesterday morning. I was soooo nervous!! But I think that it went OK. I really feel like I tend to ramble on in interviews and not really get to the point of what I am trying to say. I need to work on that.
3. Sam had asked me in a previous post to share a picture of my punk rock days. Most of my old pictures are on my old computer, but I did find one:

Thats me on the left, short black hair, gauges, and all! haha.

Sam also asked me where I grew up and where I have lived in my life. Unfortunately, there is nothing too exciting there. I was born in the place that I live now which is a small town in Tennessee and have lived here all my life. Which is one reason that I am SOOO ready for a new place and a change in my life right now!

Now its back to my favorite part of the day...oats and blogs...and COFFEE

I decided to call these my "banana pancake" oats. They have oats (of course), banana (duh!), maple syrup, and cinnamon. I wanted to make real banana pancakes, but the milk was out of date :(

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Anything fun going on for you?!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Another Be-a-u-tiful Day

I did it again! Another spelling lesson for everyone, that is how I have to say "beautiful" when I am trying to spell it. I think I must have slept through English in elementary school, not quite sure.

However, as the title suggests, it is another FREAKIN' GORGEUOUS day today. I may just have to break out the shorts.....or umm maybe get tan first THEN break out the shorts...yeah that sounds like a better idea.

Although today pretty, its already promising to be pretty darn hectic again as well. I HAVE to go to the hospital to see Jenie's new baby. I woke up this morning and had a text from her saying that he was born around midnight last night, and I could not be more excited to welcome the new little man into the world!

I have been trying to take it a little easy on the running this week, because my knees have been hurting a little. Nothing too bad, but I def. don't want to push it. I have been icing them and going on short runs, or just working out on the eliptical. But I do have exciting running news! On May 30th (when we are due to go to the beach in Charleston) I signed up for a 5K right on the beach! I was searching for a race that I could do while I was down there and that is the only thing going on the week. I have never ran a 5K, and honestly I'm kind of intimidated. Sure, I can run at a steady pace for a long distance, but at a fast pace in a short distance?! Im not sure. But, if nothing else, it should be really fun. Its right on the beach and it is in the evening. I also have something else exciting planned during my beach trip...but I'm gonna keep it a SURPRISE! haha.

This morning for breakfast I had some Honey Greek yogurt, with half a banana, some strawberries, and some All Bran Flakes mixed in...oh yeah and a few raisins, too.

This was nice and refreshing for the warm weather that we have been having. Did I mention that I am LOVING the sunshine?!!?

For lunch, I decided to mix it up a bit and NOT have a wrap. Instead I made a sandwich...I know, I know...big stretch right?!

Close-Up/Break-Down:

• Whole Wheat Bread
• Red Pepper Hummus
• Deli Sliced Turkey
• Spinach
• Cucumber
• Spicy Mustard

Now its time for a quick 3-mile run (outside, of course) a shower, and work. Busy, Busy Day! I do have some pretty big updates in the personal life area of Em. But, I think that will have to wait for when I have more time ;)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturdays and soaking up the sun!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Internet Outage!

I have felt so out of the loop all day because my Internet has been down since LAST NIGHT! It just now came back on. What the heck?! Way to be on top of things, Charter. The cable was out too, so today has been a very quite, boring day around the house. On top of that it was rainy and gray outside all day, so needless to say, it has just been "one of those days".

I really wanted to get an outdoor run in today, but with the rain and cold I just wasn't feelin' it too much. I couldn't go to the gym and run on the treadmill either, because my sister has my card to get into the gym. So I just decided that a nice rest and stretch for my muscles would do me some good, so I did an hour of yoga instead. It was very relaxing and helped me de-stress from the week.

Operation "get-out-of-the-food-rut" led me to a new breakfast. I don't know though, I was really hoping that eating cottage cheese everyday would keep me kicking all the way up past the 100s. :)

• Blueberry Waffles
• 1/2 Banana
• Strawberry Preserves
• Blueberries
• Maple Syrup

Keeping with the "get-out-of-the-food-rut" theme, I fixed up a mixture of things that did not include a sandwich OR a wrap. I get so indecisive when it comes to my meals that I always end up just putting a little bit of random things together to make a meal. Why can I NEVER make up my mind?! haha.

Here is lunch:

HUGE SALAD!

• Spinach leaves
• Romaine Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Green Pepper
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Light Italian Dressing

• Mushroom Burger
• Cheddar Quacker Oats Mini Rice Cakes

I may or may not have had a couple of pieces of Easter candy from my basket after that as well. ;)

After that I got ready and went to work. Work went well, we spent the whole night rearranging the store to look pretty with all the new spring clothes we got it. I was doing some hard physical labor in there! Climbing ladders, hammering in shelves, putting together wall displays. I felt pretty bad ass. But, now I am exhausted! Time to catch up on blogs, make some dinner, and call it a night.

Goodnight! 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.