Diaper Shower and More Fun Adventures

One of my very best friends (and boss at Rave) had a diaper shower last night. She is nine months preggers with her third baby girl!

I told her that she absolutely CAN NOT have the baby while I am at the beach. I leave on Saturday and will be gone for a whole week. Oh I hope I don't miss it.

A bunch of the girls from work got together to throw her a little "diaper shower" last night after work. Here is the whole group. I know I have said this 10000 times, but I just LOVE the girls that I work with. I am so blessed :)

And even more showed up...who is that kid in the background?! CREEP!

We provided cake...

And diapers...

And got my manager drunk...just kidding guys, she had one drink :)

After the diaper shower ended, some of the girls decided "hey, we are all dressed up...LETS GO OUT!" So of course we did. We partied for Tanya, because she can't. ;)

Here's the party girls I went out with, Tina and Kelli

And here is them later on in the night...

And I got to break out the LITTLE BLACK DRESS!

We danced until we just had to sit down, its what we do...

Last night was a blast! I woke up this morning with my legs and feet KILLING me from dancing all night and craving something along the lines of...

OATS! Duh!

Today is going to be the definition of RELAXING SUNDAY. I plane on heading down to the pool shortly and spending the rest of the day:

• soaking up the rays
• catching up on my celebrity gossip
  
• listening to the new albums that I downloaded (Dane Cook, The Dream, The Sounds, and Steve Martin's new bluegrass album...quite the variety...I think my ADD comes out in my music choices as well)
• catching up with my sister on her weekend
• planning my Charleston beach trip activities...6 days!!
  
• going for an evening run

Let's get this day started! I have a feeling its going to be good.

Which also reminds me...I have been getting the weirdest feelings that something exciting is about to happen. It will just hit me at random times. Do you guys ever get feelings like this? I just feel like something is on the brink of happening. We shall see my friends, we shall see :). Ill keep you updated on that one.

Hope everyone else is having a relaxing Sunday!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

P.S. That sucks major butt that the joke didn't really seem to work. I think you are supposed to try and say it fast...and when you do your supposed to get tongue twisted and say "he smelt farts", I swear to you it's funny when someone does it without knowing! WOW I have no idea why I even posted that. LAME!!!

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.

Asheville, NC Weekend

Hello my dears. Sorry for my absence this weekend, but my friend Britt and I took a spur of the moment trip to on our fave places to hang out Asheville, NC. I think that I have posted about this place before. It is just such a unique and fun place. Anyone who gets the chance should def. visit it. Its only about 45 minutes from where I live, so it makes a great place to go for a day trip or just an "on-a-whim" type trip. Of course you know I have pictures!

In the car getting ready to go!

We went to a pizza place called Mellow Mushroom (hence the napkin), its a small chain, so some of you may have heard of it before. I tried the tofu hoagie sandwich it had marinated tofu, sprouts, provolone cheese, tomato, and onions, and it was pretty good.

We had some fun with the random sculptures that they have all over the place. This one was a bonnet and a bowl of apples sitting on a bench.

Just your usual "lets take a picture in the bathroom" shot. haha

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. We just got back and that trip coupled with the time change has gotten me exhausted! A nap my very well be in my near future.

Also, this weekend my roommate and I went ROLLERSKATING! it was sooo much fun, it had been forever since I had been and it took a while to get used to it, but after I got in the groove I was skating circles around all those kids! What is it about the wind in your hair as you skate around techno music and disco lights that makes you feel just oh-so-cool. :)

Ok brekkie time! Ill post a better one lata. My mind is having a hard time working right now. What is up?! This time thing is really throwing me off.

Do You Dream?

Ok, so it is currently 7:36 in the A.M. and I am wide awake, despite the fact that I have absolutely nothing pressing to do this early in the morning. Why you ask?!...I just woke up from a horrible nightmare and CAN NOT go back to sleep! I have been having the craziest dreams the past couple of nights. So I decided to do a little research on dreams this morning. Because I mean really, you have to admit, dreams are WEIRD! So here are some cool facts to start off your day:

• 70% of females and 65% of males report reoccurring dreams.
• 12% of people only dream in black in white.
• The most common emotion experienced in dreams is anxiety.
• Back in the Roman Era, striking and significant dreams were submitted to the Senate for analysis and interpretation.
• If you are snoring, then you cannot be dreaming.
• You are more likely to remember your dreams if you are awaken in the middle of REM sleep.

Famous Dreamers:

• The song "Yesterday" by the Beatles, came to Paul McCartney in a dream.
• The Bible mentions dreams 121 times. The most famous is Jacob's ladder.
• Writer Robert Louis Stevenson got the idea for "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" from a dream he had had.
• Writer Mark Twain dreamed about his younger brother Henry's death. Less than two weeks later, his brother was critically injured in a a boat explosion.

So do any of you have a partially weird dream story?! Not too many people that I talk to remember their dreams, and I usually don't either. But I have always thought that dreams were really interesting!

I think I need to pick me up one of these babies:

Anyone partically skilled in the area of dream catcher making? If so, feel free to send me one :). haha

Anyways, enough of the weird stuff. Onto my food update. I have not been feeling too well. (Probably from being back in the schools with the kiddos) So my craving have been CRRRRAZZYY! Yesterday for lunch all I wanted was fruit, any kind and lots of it. haha. I went to the grocery store and stocked up on apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, blueberries, and pears. wow. I think I'm good for a while. Then for dinner all I wanted was veggies. I made up this HUGE-O salad:

• Spinach and Romaine Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Grape Tomatoes
• Onion
• Green Pepper
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chickpeas

It def. hit the spot with the veggie cravings, I also had some toast with laughing cow cheeezzzee on the side. After dinner Britt and I went to hang out with some people at a local bar. Nothing too crazy, I think I was home by 1230. hehe. Here is the infamous "us getting ready in the cramped bathroom" picture.

haha notice how we have to store things in the sink because there is a very uneven ratio of makeup to counter space! Also, notice how totally into the feather thing I have been lately. It is becoming a serious theme for me. I dont know if that is good or bad. Its stylish, right?!

Ok, this post is so totally random and you can tell I have gotten up WAY to early. I'm gonna eat this bowl of oats that I just fixed up:

This mornings mixin's included a WIDE variety of just about anything I could think of to throw in:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 banana
• Handfull of Blueberries
• Strawberry Preserves
• A few Raisins
• tbsp. Maple Syrup (soo good in oats!)
  

After I eat Im headed over to get finger printed, because for some reason they want to make sure I'm not some sort of criminal trying to substitute teacher little kids! Then I'm thinking about being spontaneous and heading over to Asheville today for some window shopping downtown. I have the whole day off, why not?!

Also, the fabulous Michelle from Lucky Taste Buds is having a Barney Butter Giveaway...so head on over there and ch-ch-ch-check it out!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far and also having pleasant dreams ;) Lots of Love <3 Ems.

Nashville Weekend Recap (LOTS of pictures!)

Oh my goodness I have MISSED you guys sooo much! I felt so out of the loop when I got home last night and tried to "quickly" scan through some of the updates. It just didnt work out because I was sooo behind! I even found out that I had won Angela's contest for an "oh she glows" fit gear hoodie! My first winning!! So that was a nice surprise to come home to :)

Anyway, on to the weekend. We took a TON of pictures, I'm not gonna put them all up here, because I think it might be overkill. But I definitely want to show you girls some highlights.

As I said in an earlier post we were going to Nashville for a going away party for my cousin Matt, who is leaving for Korea this morning to start teaching English over there for a year. I know he is super nervous about so everyone keep him in your thoughts and prayers (especially for his 14 hour flight!!) This is an awesome opportunity for him and I know he will do amazing things over there.

We started out the Nashville weekend on Friday afternoon. I picked up my friend Brittani and we hit the road! We stopped through Knoxville to pick up my cousin's girlfriend who goes to college at the University of Tennessee (that is also where my cousin graduated from). After we picked her up it was full speed ahead to NashVegas baby! My cousin had gotten a hotel right in the middle of downtown so that we could be within walking distance of all the bars and restaurants and it was so nice! We got there, got ready, and went out to eat. First things first, right?!

This is where it gets interesting. The guy at the front desk of the hotel suggested that we try a nice sushi restaurant that was on one of the main streets of downtown Nashville. We decided to give a shot. So we walk in and sit down. The waiter brings us out some water and we ask to see the menu. Well, he goes back to the KITCHEN to grab our menus. I take the menu, open it up....and THERE IS A LIVE ROACH CRAWLING INSIDE!!!! We were all up and out of that place in record time. I mean, I'm sorry, but that is just a deal breaker right there. We ran into the closest restaurant we could find and that was the Hard Rock Cafe. It wasnt bad, this place is of course more atmosphere than anything.

Ok, after we ate we hit the town. We went to one bar called Cadillac ranch. It had a real Cadillac hanging from beams in the ceiling and a mechanical bull to ride.

This was the view from the upstairs, looking down onto the bar. It was sooo cool looking.

In typical Nashville form, my friend Brandon decided to ride the bull. I think he lasted about .2 seconds. haha.

After we left there we walked up the street to a place called Paradise Park. This place was sooo cool, because it was a bar inside, but it was decorated to look like you were outside in a trailer park. I wish we had fun places like that were I live!

Britt and my cousin Matt

Matt and his friend Alex

Britt, Keely (Matt's Girlfriend), and I

Keely, Brandon, and I

Matt's friend Brandon apparently feel in love with me at first site and kept trying to tell me how pretty I was all night. Matt captured one of these moments on film. haha

The next day, the girls got up and went shopping (of course) While the fellas slept the whole day! When we got back we all got ready for Round #2.

My cousin and I. I am wearing a KILLER leather jacket that I bought at Forever 21 on our shopping trip earlier that day. I think I'm in love with it.

All of Matt's friends at his going away dinner.

Sunday morning we had a more formal get together after church where friends and family came to Matt's house to wish him well and say goodbye.

Matt and his girlfriend Keely. I felt so bad for her, having to say goodbye to her boyfriend for a whole year!

My aunt served some traditional Korean snack food at the get together. All of it was kinda strange! Even the "dessert" type things were hot and spicy! I did enjoy these "seaweed chips" that were just dried seaweed and tasted similar to crunchy sushi. haha.

The dessert spread. Ginger cookies (these tasted just like the ginger that you get with sushi, with a hint of sweetness. Kinda strange.), Rice cookies, and some other type of cookie that was almost the consistency of wax.

Alex chowing down on some edamame and Britt getting it with some rice cakes. haha

Matt and Alex.

After the get together we hit the road to go back home. It was really sad saying goodbye to my cousin, but he will be able to keep in touch through e-mail and such, so that goods. I look forward to hearing all the stories and seeing all the pictures. It was a fun and exhausting weekend. And I'm pretty sure that I fell in love with Nashville, it is just an amazing city with so much to see and do!

Well, I am glad to be back to my lovely blogger ladies. Like I said, I missed you guys tons and I am going to try to get caught up on everyones lives again! Please get me back into the loop!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday. Lots of Love <3 Ems.

Lazy Sunday

Ok have you seen this VIDEO?! Its an old SNL skit, but every time I have a "lazy Sunday" I always think of it and its sooo funny. FOLLOW THE LINK AND WATCH IT if you havent all ready seen it, and even if you have seen it...watch it again.

So sorry I missed posting yesterday, but I worked ALL day long plus I have been so stressed out about that interview that I have on Tuesday that I havent been able to think about much else!

This is def a LAZY Sunday! I woke up and had my usual brekkie, that I did not get a picture of because I feel like its a little redundant! So, I have this dorky hobby (DONT LAUGH) but i love the work puzzles. Since I have been out of school I thought that I would have a little extra time and I saw this puzzle at target so I thought I would get it. Its a 2000 piece puzzle of Van Gogh's Starry Night painting. Its supposed to look like this:

But currently it looks like this on my dining room table:

Oh my gosh! It is sooo hard, usually I work on it for about an hour and then get frustrated and quit. All my friends that come over and see it say that they will help me but they usually only last about 20 minutes. haha.

After breakfast and a frustrating round with the puzzle, I actually ventured out into the world to run some errands. While I was out I ran into the local Natural Foods Market and picked up a couple of these babies:

Vitatops!! I got three different flavors, velvety chocolate, deep chocolate, and fudgy peanut butter cup.

I have never tried these before, and as you know, they are ALL OVER the blogs, so I went online to see if they sold them anywhere around here and lo and behold THEY DID! I'll be sure to let you lovely gals know which one I like the best :)

When I got home I fixed up a quick lunch of a wrap and some kashi crackers on the side. Im telling ya those flat out wraps have turned me into WRAP GIRL, I never thought it would happen.

Flat out wrap with roasted red pepper hummus, spinach, and salsa with Kashi veggie crackers.

And you girls know I just HAD to try one of my vitatops for desert.

This was the Velvety Chocolate Vitatop with a little cool whip on top :)

Oh man! Everything they say is true! This was soooo good and the bites with the melty chocolate chips in them was even better!! YUMYUMYUM!

Ok well, Im gonna get back to my lazy sunday I suppose. I may go visit the parentals later on. I hope everyone is having a nice relaxing Sunday as well! Ill see you gals a little later! <333