100 Posts!

I forgot to mention that the last post was officially my 100th post, but I wanted to recognize this momentous occasion, so I'm writing about it on the 101th post. Remember in elementary school when you always had to bring in 100 pennies (or whatever else could easily be separated in 100) to celebrate the 100th day of school?

Last night was the second weekend in a row that Lucas has come into town. I would like to think that it is all for me, but I guess I will have to take 50% of the credit and give the other 50 to the holiday. He did come over last night to hang out after he got into town, and I managed to get a pretty funny picture. Like I said before, he is a foot taller than me. Now, I'm not tall...but I'm not extremely short either. I am 5"4' and he is 6"4'. He's a pretty big guy. Anyway, my roommate has a mini laptop that he was playing around on. The second I walked in and saw him I was laughing hysterically.

It really looks like its just a normal sized computer and he is a giant.

In other news, I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words about my last post. I had a long talk with my boss at Rave and I just really needed a kick in the butt. She wants to see me look for a career in education (which is what I work towards for 4 years of my life), and doesn't want to see me sell myself short. So I'm going full speed ahead towards that. Next weekend I am going to Nashville for a education career fair. My aunt is a teacher down there and she got hired on the spot at the fair last year, so cross your fingers!!! I really need this!

Also, one of my all time favorite bloggers (and person in general) Jenn gave me an award!

Thanks girl, this made my day :)

FRIENDS… comes with the following description to be added & passed along: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.” It also says : “Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

So I pass this wonderful award onto the following:

• Kailey
• Kate
• Mica
• Baylee
• Luci
• Dulcie
• Lesley
• Michelle

Love you girls and all the other blogger friends out there! I wish I could pass it on to everyone, because this whole community is just awesome, and I feel so lucky to call all of you friends.

Today, I need to go grocery shopping BAD. I feel like I am in such a food rut. I only eat pretty much the same things everyday. I need to "spice up my life" (spice girl reference, anyone?). Any suggestions as something new to try out for lunch/dinner?

Well, I hope that everyone is having a great Saturday. Im pretty excited for Easter tomorrow! What does everyone have planned for Sunday?

Ch-ch-ch Changes

So, as you guys know the past couple of days have really been a struggle for me, well heck we will go ahead and say the past couple of months have been a struggle for me. Im caught in a cross roads at a very strange time and have been hit with the harsh reality that I have to make a decision, things have to change. As much as I would love to stay in the routine of what is comfortable and "safe" for me, it is no longer possible to do that. And that happens sometimes, its life and if there are not bumps in the road and hard decisions to make, then you are not fully living it.

It hit me hard during my run today. My mind just started to wonder and I started trying to work everything out in my head. I came to the conclusion that most of the things that I am struggling with are a result of one thing : fear of the change, of something new. It has been something that I have seen around a lot of the blogs lately too, and it definitely is a major theme in the road to recovery from ED. Fear of the unknown, its always gotten to me. Im afraid of new relationships because I have been hurt in the past, I am afraid of new jobs because I might not like them, I am afraid to step outside of the comforts that I have worked so hard to build up in my everyday life. But here is what hit me, just out of now where today while I was pondering all of this - sometimes things just HAVE to change, sometimes its for the better and sometimes not...but things will always fall into place. I can not hold on to something for forever, what good would that do? I have to let go of the past and start on a new road. Sure, things were great on that old road that I have been on for so long, but some things weren't. Now there is a new road, a new chapter that I have to embrace and leave the other one behind. Yes, it could have its bumps as well...but I am fully confident that it will have its smooth spots too.

Then, just like I was meant to find this, one of my friends sent me a quote on my phone that I just so happened to read right after my run. It hit so close to home that I was almost in tears while reading it. From what I have been reading in a lot of other blogs about fear of change, I thought that a lot of you may be able to relate. So here it is:

"Change. It can be the most amazing thing, or the worst heartache. So much is different since last week, and then I think back to last month... And I see a picture hanging up from last year. I see me and my friends laughing and I miss them, I miss then. Then I think about how great life is now and I wonder why I miss back then. I think the uncertainty of the moment right now and wondering whats next can be fearful... But aren't you excited to think about the potential of tomorrow? The anticipation of looking back a year from now at the pictures you'll take next week is worth waking up for. No matter how miserable a situation may seem, you can always find hope in the fact that it too will soon change. And although you might miss a moment or a feeling from the past, you still always have the chance to feel it again. Take advantage of your chances, there are some things you don't want to regret."

Everything about this just fit my situation to a tee. I have been afraid to leave my old job because of the fun times and the people that I love there, but who is to say that I wouldn't experience all new great things in a new place? I have been afraid to start a new relationship because I am afraid that I would never fell love again like before and that I would be hurt again, but I have to break down that wall and realize that there is a chance to feel that again, if I don't hold myself back from it. I have been so scared of this change that I have let it just eat at me, but why? change is scary, but its good. It means that my life is GOING somewhere, not just sitting still.

So I'm going to face this change head on...I'm going to go down this new path full speed ahead. I want new experiences, new people, new places, ect. I'm ready...lets see whats down this road...bring it on.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD., originally uploaded by EDWARD DULLARD.

Change of subject...ask and you shall receive...wanna see the new boy?!

Did I mention that he is a foot taller than me?! haha. Also, this picture is from a while back, not from the games yesterday...but i just had to show a picture of him! :)

The game was fun. My sister came with me, so I got to spend quality time with her as well, which is always good. Obviously since I had to put up an old picture I didn't steal of pic of Lucas yesterday. But I did get a shot of him playing:

He's the pitcher ;)

And me and the sissy

Now, time for lunch, shower, work...and hopefully Lucas is coming in for a SECOND weekend. Can't get enough of me?!....perhaps....or maybe its just Easter. haha.

Hope everyone has a great day! Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Good News and Bad News

Oh yes everyone it is officially Hump Day. For those of you lucky enough to have a Monday through Friday job you are half-way there! For me however, I havent even started this week yet! I have had Monday through Wednesday off this week, but starting tomorrow I work everyday until Sunday. That is if I still have a job!! The conflict STILL has not been settled between my two jobs. I have really only talked to Rave about this, but if Stir-fry doesn't wanna work with me on the scheduling, then it will have to come down to a choice between the two. I was literally in tears yesterday trying to work it all out. Its such a hard position to be in because one job (Rave) I'm absolutely in love with and love all the people, but make no money...and the other job (stir-fry) I'm not even sure that I will like, but will make more money. What do I do?!!

I do have some more positive news however. Today I get to go see Lucas! He is playing a baseball game at a college that is only about 30 minutes away, and he gets to pitch this game, so I told him that I would definitely be there. I have never gotten to see him play before, so it should be fun. PLUS I might just get to sneak in a pic or two, Jen! ;)

Yesterday for dinner I decided to try one of the new Healthy Choice meals, after hearing Katie talking about them on her blog.

I tried the Portabella Marsala Pasta, Here is the box:

Here's the Nutrition:

Serving size: 1 Meal (9 oz.)

Calories: 270
Calories from fat: 70

Amount/Serving %DV*
Total Fat (7 g) 11%
Saturated Fat (2.5 g) 13%
Trans Fat (0 g)
Cholesterol (15 mg) 5%
Sodium (550 mg) 23%
Vitamin A 0%
Calcium 10%

Total Carbohydrates (38 g) 13%
Dietary Fiber (5 g) 20%
Sugar (4 g)
Protein (12 g)
Vitamin C (0%)
Iron (6%)

And here is what it looks like all plated up:

Review:

It kind of reminded me of a stroganoff, which I love. But I just didn't really care for this one. There was a layer of cheese on top that just sort of got this super weird texture after you cooked it. You know the type that just adheres to your fork and won't let go?! The one thing that I did like about this was that they did not skimp on the mushrooms. At first, I was going to add a little more of my own, but after seeing the meal I decided that it looked like it had plenty! Very rarely do you see a microwave meal that has plenty of any ingredient. I will probably not purchase this one again, but I do want to try some of the others. I give it a 6 out of 10.

The salad I had on the side however, is a solid DIME!

I always stick to the "colors rule" and try to incorporate lots of different colors into my salad. Nothing is more boring then a salad full of all greens. And I am just lovin the purple cauliflower as of late.

Backtracking to lunch I had my "pre-workout" fuel. I still swear by it:

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana with Strawberry Preserves, and a few Honey Twist Pretzels on the side.

Note: While the sandwich def. gives me the fuel that I need for a workout, I would not recommend eating pretzels with it before working out. The saltiness of the pretzels made me more dehydrated during the run, and I had to drink about 3 bottles of water in one 30 minute run! haha.

I got to the gym late, which is one thing in life that I try to aviod at all costs. Because it is a college gym the later you go the more people and the less serious they are about actually working out. I had to wait for an ET, wait for a treadmill, wait to fill up my water bottle, etc, etc. But it actually turned out to be a good thing because I got in a pretty killer workout!

• 35 minutes on the eliptical
• 10 minutes on the squirrel thing?? - i did this to occupy my time while waiting for a treadmill, but this burned almost 150 extra calories!
• 3 miles on the treadmill, average pace was about 10 minutes a mile, but I bumped it up to 9 minutes for the last mile.

Speaking of workouts, I have to go get in an early one before coming home to shower and go to the baseball game :) So, Im off!

Hope everyone is having a good "Mid-Week" Lots of Love,

<3 Ems.

Overbooked

I totally think that I have a problem with thinking that I can do more than I really can. In this case it I would be talking about being two places at once. Why do I think this is even possible?!

Im sure you are wondering what I am talking about. Well, I just got off the phone with my manager from Stir-fry about my schedule for this week. Of course every shift she asked me to work I responded back with an enthusiastic "SURE!", then when I get off the phone and look at my planner I realize that I have prior commitments to my other job! I have no idea what I am going to do, I am kind of freaking out right now. Hopefully I can get something worked out.

It is such a crummy day today, so I will probably just head over to the gym and cross train instead of going for a run today. Like I said before I ran 9 miles on Saturday, and then on Sunday I did an easy run of 3 miles. I decided to time myself on the first mile, just to see how I could do. I ended up doing the first mile in 8:54!! I was pretty happy with this, even though I wasnt really pacing myself, it was just an experiment. I read in Runners magazine that you should time one mile and then add 1:30 to get your ideal 10-k pace. So my 10-k pace would be around 10:30, but I really wanna do it in less so we will just see how my improvement goes throughout the training.

I woke up this morning and had a great breakfast of some VERY fruity oats. I basically just threw every kind of fruit I had in the fridge in there.

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 Banana
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• 1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
• Cinnamon

For lunch I had a nice melty, grilled sandwich

• Whole Wheat Bread
• Turkey
• Mustard
• Tomato Slices
• Cucumbers
• 2% Milk Cheese
• Spinach

So, I guess I just can't be mysterious with you girls because everyone is asking for details on my cute little baseball player. Well, I saw him every day over the weekend. Including being his last stop before leaving to go back to school last night :). Like I said before I dont really want to rush anything and get my hopes up. But I really like him and what girl can resist a guy that tells you how happy he is everytime he sees you and makes sure to open doors, tell you how pretty you are, and send sweet texts randomly throughout the day?! I'm pretty sure I have had a big goofy smile on my face all weekend. BUT! I dont want to jinx it, we will just play it coooolll! haha. I wont get to see him a lot until he comes home for the summer because of his baseball schedule, but its only a month away :)

Alright girls, time to get going on this day...I feel like I have gotten nothing accomplished but conflicts! haha.

Lots of Love, <3Ems.

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.

Sushi Lover's Heaven

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

I woke up yesterday to go take the GRE (graduate exam). It lasted for 4 HOURS and they were freakin' hardcore! They made me take off my hoodie, spit out my gum, and they even said they had a take a "digital picture" to prove that it was me taking the test. Geez. I think I did pretty good though...and now I can start thinking about applying to some Grad schools.

Lunch yesterday was delicious:

• Italian Herb Flat-Out Wrap
• Garlic and Artichoke Hummus
• Turkey Slices
• Loads of Spinach
• Salsa
• White Wine Mustard
• Quacker Cheddar Mini-Rice Cakes

I just love the mini rice cakes as substitutes for chips. They are so much better...and only 60 calories for 11!! So that means I can eat like 300, right?!

Last night I also worked my last training shift at stir-fry. For the last night of training they always want you back in the kitchen helping to prep the food. This was sooo much fun! Can you imagine?! I got to see all the yummy food and how it was made...and even got to sample some of it :). The manager was quizzing me on what some of the food was, and I may not have known all the food, but I knocked her socks off on the sushi. There was a big tray of like 10 rolls, and I named off all of them like that. Sushi is my favorite food, of course I know about it :) It was a sushi lovers heaven <333

I didn't get off work in time to go see the movie that Lucas and I had planned to see, but he did come over and we are planning to see the movie tonight instead :). We are going to see I Love You, Man. Which I have heard mixed reviews on, so we will see. I just hope its not one of those awkward funny movies that you feel uncomfortable seeing with a guy. you know what I mean? Has anyone seen it yet?

In other random news the past three mornings, for no apparent reason I have woken up singing the theme song for "salute your shorts." Anyone remember that show?

Gotta love 90s Nickelodeon. Am I right?!

Currently, I am enjoying a nice big cup of coffee and contemplating what to have for breakfast. It may just be some toast with cottage cheese...I'm pushing that 130 years. haha.

Oh yes, and you just KNOW I have pool night pics to share.

Grant snapped this picture because he said that all I did all night was text. I think some of it was checking blogs, though. hehe

We lost...we were sad.

Alright girlies, time for brekkie! I hope everyone has a great start to the weekend...I have work at the ol' Rave and then a cute baseball player is picking me up for date #2 ;)

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Extra! Extra!

Ok a couple of topics to be addressed in this post! I feel like I have gotten so behind and been such a tease with all of my posts! So this is like a full newspaper-esque report on what has been up!

First things first: Mommy tries POM Wonderful:

As you know, I have been sharing some of my healthy food with my mother to get her back into healthier eating. I have recently got into oats for breakfast, flat out wraps, and now POM Wonderful. She refused to let me take her picture, BOO! But here is her review anyway. Like I had said before I am a pretty big fan of cranberry juice, and my mom is too. She also compared it that but said that it had a more "tart" flavor. She said that she liked it a lot and wanted to try some of the recipes that I showed her on the website. She was most interested in trying the POM Jelly because she has been talking about wanting to make her own jelly. I gave her about half of my supply, and she loves trying new recipes...so i cant wait to see what she come up with. And I'll def. keep you guys posted!

Second: LUNCH!

Im calling this my Gourmet PB and J. Just because, its awesome. It includes:

• 2 Slices of Wheat Bread
• 2 Tbsp. Naturally More Peanut Butter
• 1/2 Banana
• Raisins
• Strawberry Jelly
• Real Strawberries chopped up.

OH YUM! This hit the spot! And I swear that peanut butter and banana are the perfect combo to fuel up for a run, because I KILLED it today...which brings me to my next topic...

Today's Run: 7.5 miles!! woo hoo! I was super bummed today because when I woke up it was rainy and crappy outside. I had pretty much settled on the fact that I was just gonna have to go to the gym. But after i had my lunch the sun had decided to show its beautiful face...and I knew I just HAD to go run on my trial. One thing that I love about running is how everyone seems to be best friends that runs on the same trial. Whether you know the person or not, its almost like there is some sort of connection with them and people always smile or wave or say something as you run by. Today I had the hugest smile on my face because everyone I ran by was so friendly! I decided to just run until I got tired and I ended up going 7 and half miles. I was happy with this...my legs are not. I guess I can look forward to being sore tomorrow!

Next Topic: The Boy: I had mentioned something about this in an earlier post and a couple of you had asked me about it. One of the reasons that I didn't really go into details is because its a SUPER long story. But I'll sum it up. Things did not work out with Mike. I didn't say anything about it on here, because I just didn't wanna really get into it, but its been over for a couple of months. Anyway, two weekends ago an old friend that I have known for a couple of years just popped back into my life (funny how things like that happen huh?) His name is Lucas and he pretty much told me that he had liked me years, but didn't say anything because of Mike. We are taking things slow, so I'm not going to get too worked up about until I see how things go. He plays baseball for a college that is about 2 hours away, so I have not seen him since that weekend. He is coming home tomorrow and I have a date with him tomorrow night AND Friday night. We'll see how it goes. :)

I feel like there was more I needed to share...was there?!

Well, tonight is Wednesday and you know what that means...POOL NIGHT! So I'm off to get ready, eat dinner, and then go KILL some boys in pool...cause thats how I do.

Hope everyone is having a great night! Lots of Love <3 Ems.