You Suck Internet Provider.

I'm not naming any names (for fear of some sort of big corporate reparation), but my Internet provider is slackin' as of late. Can you believe that I have not been able to connect to the Internet in TWO days. AND this is the second time this month this has happened...AND when I called them they said they didn't see that anything was wrong. WHAT THE HELL?! Come on guys, I'm paying you for this. You best be giving me what I'm paying for.

Ok enough ranting, its back now. I feel like walking on egg shells though, like any false move and I will get kicked off again.

Currently I am enjoying a lovely bowl of "banana pancake" oats. And catching up on all the blogs that I have missed the past couple of days.

YUMMMSSS!!

I have been busting my butt with the substituting gigs lately! Monday I was a Kindergarten teacher and yesterday I was a fifth grade teacher...Friday is 1st (my favorite grade). Gotta make that money!!

Also, I have been taking every precaution to treat my knee. After a week off from running I tried it again on Monday. I ran 4 miles...came home iced it for 30, heated it for thirty, rubbed pain reliever creme on it, and wrapped it for the rest of the day. Tuesday there was NO PAIN! But, I still wanted to take it easy so I just worked out on the treadmill for 45 minutes. Today I'm going to see how it goes at the gym before deciding what workout I want to do.

Yesterday at work I purchased the cutest little shirt. I have this sort of "theme" with my outfits. If they have some sort of unique back to them I HAVE to buy them. Everyone now associates me with these types of shirts, it kinda like an "Emily staple". I just think that a womans back is one of the most sexy parts of the body. Its seductive, but not skanky. haha. Don't you agree? Here is the latest addition to the collection:

While catching up with the blogs, I was stoked to see that I had received an award from one of my FAVE bloggettes Dulcie. I was super excited about this award, because I just think its great!

The Renee Award is one of the most meaningful awards in blog world because it honors someone who is incredibly inspirational in her intelligent and witty writing. And by doing so, this award celebrates women’s smart, strong and inspirational spirit! It honors women who spread joy and love like an Acorn……a small package growing into a tall and sturdy oak tree which gives more acorns…………..

First of all let me just tell you guys that each and everyone of you inspire me by your witty and funny antics and also with your strong spirits. There is not one blog that I read that doesn't make me laugh or smile every single day. And all of the blogs that I read inspire me and add to my life from day to day. I just love every single one of you guys. So if I comment on your blog at all, just know that you are AMAZING and that I am passing this award onto you as well!

NOW I HAVE SOME SUBJECTS TO ADDRESS FOR SOME OF MY READERS!

First of all Sam had asked what my drink of choice was. And I just have to say that it all depends. I really like to drink red wine at the house while I am getting ready to go out or if I am just chillin with friends in a restaurant or something. If I am out partyin' it up with friends...and trying to keep up with the boys (not that I can or anything, my boys are pretty extreme) I will take shots. My favorite shot is a yagerbomb, with sugar free red bull....because regular red bull with all that sugar mixed with alcohol just isn't a good idea for the ol' tummy. Funny story...one time I got asked by a guy at the bar WHO WAS ORDERING THE SAME DRINK, if I was on a "diet"...I looked at him, then looked at his drink and said "No, are you?!" nice pick up line. Ok back to the drinks...if I want to just not really drink much and just sip on something I will order a vodka cranberry or a light beer. My favorite beer in Yuenling light.

Ok, now I feel like an alcoholic. Don't judge! But, I feel like knowing the appropriate drink for you and where you are and what you are doing is important. I know EXACLTY how much of each of those drinks I can drink without going over bored and keep track meticulously throughout the night. Because I have such a god "game plan" as far as drinks go, I hardly ever get hangovers or regret anything the morning after...except maybe the texts...umm...still working on that one.

Next order of business Miss Emily is running her first 5K and she needs our help! She asked me for some tips about running and I can think of a few AND I know there are others of you out there that have a few tips as well. In the next couple of days I wanna do a post of running tips. SO PLEASE E-MAIL ME SOME OF YOUR BEST TIPS FOR TRAINING OR JUST RUNNING IN GENERAL. I'm going to put them all together, along with some research and tips of my own and make a post for her...and anyone else that can benefit from the tips.

Now I'm off to the gym!

Hope everyone is having a happy HUMP day!

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.

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.

Birthday Celebration and 25 Things

Last night was my friend Justin's birthday, so of course we had to celebrate. Here is a pic re-cap.

For some reason Justin just HAD to have everyone do a thumbs up...cheesy?! I think so.

Wait...thats not right...

There we gooo

I love taking random laughter shots

Sarah even brought her dog to help us celebrate

Dinner last night before the bar:

Veggies Burger on Arnold's Sandwich Thins and Steamed Veggies

So the wonderful Emily tagged me to tell 25 random things about myself. This could be the point were my "inner weirdo" is revealed, so try not to judge too hard.

1. I am a morning person FOR SURE, my favorite part of the day is first thing in the morning, sipping coffee and Internet surfing in my flannel pj's.
2. I only buy movies that I absolutely love, I currently only own about 6 movies.
3. My first crush was David Bowie.
4. Sometimes when I am driving I like to sing really loud and pretend that I am a rockstar.
5. I went through a "punk rock" stage in highschool and dyed my hair black and had 1/2 inch gages in my ears.
6. My child hood is defined by Nickelodeon game shows. Name a show, I'll tell you the host...and probably be able to quote an episode or two.
   
7. Charleston is my favorite place in the world, it has been my life goal to one day move there.
8. I HATE oreos just plain, but they are my favorite topping for icecream. :)
9. I still have not fully gotten into the "high heels" thing, although I should because I am only 5'4".
10. I am more of a dog person than a cat person.
11. I am currently terrified of this "swine flu" epidemic. WTF?!!
12. I LOVE grocery shopping. I go up and down every isle, even if I dont need anything in that particular isle.
    
13. Guys confuse the HELL out of me and I'm not sure if I will ever figure them out.
14. My middle name is Dru...I wish it was my first name.
15. Ok, Baylee here is my OCD habit...I can only get out of bed when the clock reads an even number. I feel like if I start my day out at an "odd" time, it will be an "odd" day. haha
16. My favorite thing about myself is my dimples, even though when I was little I HATED them and would sit in front of the mirror for hours puffing out my checks in an attempt to "blow them out".
17. I love pictures...taking pictures, looking at pictures, etc.
18. I DO NOT want to grow up, and refuse to.
19. I think conditioner is WAY better than shampoo (Billy Madison anyone?!)
20. I have a crush on our local weather man.
21. My favorite color is purple.
22. If I could travel to any place earth it would be Australia or Japan.
23. My least favorite part of the day is when I have to blow dry my hair. It is pure torture, and I try to avoid it any way possible.
24. I have a round tooth. I could have gotten it fixed, but I think it shows character.
25. In the summer time my face gets COVERED in freckles, and you know what?! I like them!

WOW. That was hard. Someone else give it a try! I tag:

Mica

Katie

Kristi

Amy and

Emily

Now, Im off to do some grocery shopping...maybe I'll see my club hoppin produce boy ;)...and then working all day.

Hope everyone is having a great start to the week.

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.

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.