My Vacation

I have had the great privilege of hanging out with four great boys while their parents are away on a little trip. They were a great excuse to take a couple of much-needed days off of work. Today was day 1 of "my vacation," and something happened that made me laugh a lot at myself.

This story should also give you a pretty good idea of how much I talk to myself in my head!

Before Kristy left on her trip her iPod just quit working and nothing she/we tried would fix it. Going on a long trip without your iPod is just not a good idea, so we found a temporary solution. And, I have been looking for a reason to get to the Apple store so I offered to take hers in to see if they could figure out what was wrong with it. Now, if you've never been to the Apple store they have an "iPod bar" staffed by self-proclaimed "geniuses." Since I was in need of the services of an iPod genius that's where I headed. Sounds logical, right?

Well, I approach the iPod bar and one of the geniuses rudely asked me if I had an appointment. I replied, "no, I didn't know I needed one." He proceeded to tell me to go talk to one of the people in orange shirts about setting up an appointment. Please note that there were 17 (I counted) geniuses working in the store and about 10 customers. So, I'm thinking alright dude I'll make an appointment to talk to you. I go over to an orange guy and he tells me the earliest appointment is 1:15 (it was 12:00 at the time). I asked him if he was joking and he asked me if I had eaten lunch yet, and I didn't laugh. Normally, it probably wouldn't have bothered me but I didn't want to get stuck in Southlake when I had to be back to pick up Parker from school. I calmly left the store and did a little retail therapy while I thought about my options.

About fifteen minutes later I returned to the store ready to let them have it. I mean don't they know that I own just about everything Apple has to offer? Do they know that I tell everyone I know how great Apple is? Do they know I have a blog, that maybe five people read, and I will tell everyone on the whole internet how horribly treated I was? Do they know I'm not afraid to pick up a phone and call Steve Jobs and let him know what is happening in his stores? (Yeah right, I'm totally terrified to pick up the phone to call anybody!!) I just need someone to look at an iPod, not do brain surgery!

So, I'm so ready to be tough and when I walk back in the store the guy who helped me earlier walked straight to the iPod bar and talked to a different guy, who agreed to meet with me right away. In about 5 minutes he had diagnosed the iPod as having a completely empty battery. It just needed to be charged. Apparently, I had not been patient enough in my earlier attempts to charge it. And, perhaps I learned an important lesson - slow down, be patient, watch expectantly - you never know what might pop up on the screen.

The moral of the story is, I love Apple again. You should all buy their stuff and not be afraid to go in and talk to the geniuses when you have a question - they know their stuff, just make sure you have an appointment!

I also wanted to document the last couple days with the boys:

On Saturday, Landry was kind of missing his Momma so he walked around in some of her shoes for awhile:


Then, we watched Parker's second baseball game of the day.


Then, we went swimming, but there's no pictures of that.

Then, on Sunday we went to church. After church, Parker and I went to Six Flags for a little while. He didn't know where we were going, this was his face once he found out:


Here are some other pictures from the day:






Tonight, we had another baseball game and we've got a full house again! It's been a great time so far, I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

The Day After

I always spend part of Thanksgiving Day going through the ads in the paper. I also always say that I'm going to get up before the crack of dawn to go experience the craziness that is Black Friday, I never do. Rumor has it that back when I was in high school I did actually get up one year. However, it has been many years since then. This history of mine made me a little nervous when I committed to going shopping with my friend Kristy this year. But, I made it. I arrived at the Walmart at 4:45 am. I couldn't help but laugh as I saw people standing guard at various pallets throughout the store. Black Friday shopping, it's serious business!

I prefer to do my Christmas shopping at the last minute (probably because I prefer to do most things at the last minute), so there really wasn't anything that I had to have. In roughly 9 hours of shopping I was able to mark one person off my shopping list. The sad thing is, I really thought I'd found a deal. Apparently, Kohl's just marks up the prices on things and then sells them for 50% off so you think you are getting a great deal. I'd tell you what I bought, but I wouldn't want my 2-year-old nephew to get on here and read about it! :)

Even though I have very little to show for it, I had a great day. There was much fun and much laughter, and that made it all worth it!

Thankful

I've mentioned a time or two on this blog that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I just think it's so great that our entire country takes a day to stop our busy lives, spend time with family and friends, and just be thankful. Really the only downside to Thanksgiving is that someone has to die, the turkey. I digress. For me, Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without thinking through some of the hundreds of things I have to be especially thankful for this year. Since this is the place where I think out loud, here are some of my thankful thoughts...

My family will hopefully always be at the top of my list.

My Mom and Dad: I'm thankful for their encouragement, their generousity, their wisdom, their love, their friendship, their godly example. I am especially thankful that tomorrow my Dad is going to come over and beat up some wasps for me and maybe change some batteries in my smoke detectors! And, I'm thankful that my Mom is going to go through the trouble of making Stove Top Stuffing for me because she knows that's what I like best.

My brother, Josh: I'm thankful for his sense of humor, his intelligence, and I'm really, really thankful for his family! Kelley has been a wonderful addition to our family, I can't believe they've been married for 5 years already. And, I think my love for Will and Allie is well-documented here. The four of them, they make my life really fun, and I'm thankful for that.

My sister, Ashleigh: I'm thankful for her honesty, her teaching wisdom, her listening ear, and her ability to forgive me when I drive her crazy! :)

My Grandmas: I can't think of two better people to be the foundation of our family. Both of my Grandmas would do absolutely anything for any one of us. They are kind, they are generous, they are constant. They have taught me the value of being thankful. I'm so very thankful to have the influence of two very wise and very loving Grandmas on my life. You guys are the best!!

These are some people that I haven't known that long, but this year, I'm just down-right grateful for them:


Apparently, God likes to use kids to change my life, because last year these four did just that. Two of them were in my class last year and the other two were just a bonus! In a crazy way that I would have never imagined these four kids and their families have become some of my closest friends. I'm thankful for their encouragment, their time, their wisdom, their laughter. I'm just thankful for everything about them. They make my life so much more fun, more exciting, and a lot fuller!

I could probably go on for a long time about everything that I'm thankful for...all my other friends, Diet Coke, Peanut M&Ms, flying insect spray, my house, my car...but I don't want to bore you.

I'll close with the thing that I'm most thankful for this year. I'm thankful for my Savior. I'm thankful that He's a good God who loves me, who cares about me, who has every little detail of my life figured out. I'm thankful that He continually offers grace and mercy to me. It is a grace that is a mystery to me, but beckons me to live, to not take any day or any opportunity for granted.

I have so very much to be thankful for. If I never experience another blessing, I think the overflow of thankfulness my heart is experiencing right now could get me through. I am blessed indeed.

I'm not good at bowling

My life is really just a journey towards authenticity. So in an effort to be as authentic and transparent as I can, I will confess my shortcomings in the sport of bowling. That's right, I got the opportunity to be a substitute bowler again this week. It didn't go so well. I feel particularly bad because the person I was subbing for really is a great bowler.

Even though I'm not going to be joining the Professional Bowler Association of Whatever, I did have a very fun time. I think I bowled my lowest score ever in my life and the really sad part was that I really was trying. Sometimes things just don't go our way. I'm so embarrassed by my score that I'm not even going to put it on here, although I'm sure someone who reads this will be happy to leave it for everyone in the comments section. I will say this, my score has a digital root of 4. I'm hoping there aren't any mathematicians out there working hard on their calculators. :) For those of you who don't know, a digital root of 4 could include the following possibilities: 202, 121, 49, 211, 94, 103, 22, or even 112. The possibilities are really endless.

During the third game Kelly, Deneise, and I made a bet that the loser has to buy Slurpees for the other two. I thought a little wager was all I would need to get my game in gear. It happened quite the opposite. Those two are so particular about their Slurpees that they drew me picture of exactly how to create one to their specifications. And, here it is:


In other news, only 8 school days until Thanksgiving Break! Eight days and I get a whole week off. I'm quite excited about it even though I have no particularly fun plans, as of yet. :)

Tuesdays may be my favorite

Tuesdays are turning out to be quite unpredictable here lately. That's not a bad thing at all, I'm just noticing a pattern. Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Bass Hall with Deneise. You can read all about that experience, here. Last Tuesday I got to experience my first sick day, which was made the best-sick-day-ever because Kristy brought me lunch, which was so very nice of her. Then, tonight (Tuesday) I was given the opportunity to be a substitute bowler in my church's "Just for Fun" Bowling League.

It all started when I was walking out of school on my way to watch some former students play football. I noticed that I had a missed call from Deneise so I called her back:

Me: Hey Deneise! What's up?
Deneise: Hey Emily, I was wondering how you felt about bowling?
Me: Hmmm, I feel fine about bowling, I guess.
Deneise: Well, do you want to bowl tonight with me, we need a sub?
Me: Uh yeah, I could do that. That sounds like fun. I don't have to be good do I?
Deneise: No, no, you don't have to be good. It's all just for fun.
Me: Ok, well, I'm on my way to watch some football and then I'll just need to run home and change clothes (sound familiar?)
Deneise: You don't need to change clothes, you'll be fine

This time I did insist on changing clothes. I am at least a little bit ok with being underdressed for the theater, but way not ok with being overdressed for a bowling alley. :)

Here's a quick recap of the bowling greatness:

Game #1, unfortunately, was my best game and I beat Deneise.

Game #2, something was wrong with the pins or something, they just wouldn't move in front of my ball. Deneise did quite well and beat me. Best two out of three, right?

Game #3, I was having the same problem with the pins and really just couldn't get anything happening. Unless, of course, you look at it this way...Imagine the 9th Inning of the Seventh Game of the World Series. Your team is gonna lose but you want to end it on a high note by hitting a home run. This was the pressure I was putting on myself, I wanted to finish strong. So, here we are, 10th frame of the third game. I'm getting beat pretty badly but I want desperately to save face and maybe, at least get a spare. First bowl, I knock 8 pins down. Guess where the remaining pins were? That's right, they were at opposite ends of what looked like the Grand Canyon. With all the courage I could muster, I bowled that ball perfectly, and knocked both pins down. People were cheering wildly (ok, they were cheering but the wildly was probably in my head), Deneise looks up and says, "What happened?" I say, "you didn't see that?" Her response, "No, I wasn't watching because I knew you wouldn't get it!" This response made me laugh really hard and I told her that I was going to write it down so I would be able to blog about it. I didn't have anything to write on so I wrote it on the bottom of my Sonic Cup and Deneise tried for the rest of the night to get me to throw it away. :) So it can live on forever in Internet glory, here it is:


So, I didn't come home the big bowling winner, but I did get to come home smelling extra special. I also came home with a thankfulness for all the new, amazing people that have come into my life in the last year. People that have made Tuesdays, and really every other day of the week, the best days ever. :)

A funny thing happened on the way to...

For the most part, my life is pretty predictable. Monday through Friday from about 7 to 4:30 you can find me at school, Saturdays you can find me at the ballfields, and Sundays you can find me at church. Sometimes though, my life can be totally unpredictable and quite spontaneous. Today was one of those days!

School was pretty normal but instead of staying until 4:30, I left at 3:20! Watch out!! I then ran home to change clothes (Baylor T-Shirt, jeans, tennis shoes) and then headed up to the Intermediate School to watch some of my former students play some football. When the games were over I made my way to Walmart to grab a couple things for school and church tomorrow. As I was pulling into the parking lot my phone rang, it was Deneise. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Hello
Deneise: Hey! What are you doing?
Me: Oh, just on my way to Walmart.
Deneise: Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Bass Hall with us to see Cirque Dreams?
Me: Well, sure, I could do that. That sounds fun! Count me in.
Deneise: Ok, we're going to go eat before we go, where are you?
Me: I'm at Walmart.
Deneise: Ok, stay put! We're coming to get you!
Me: Ok, should I go home and change clothes or something?
Deneise: Oh no, you'll be fine!

So, five minutes later I'm heading to the Bass Hall to see Cirque Dreams with Deneise and her Mom in my Baylor t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. We enjoyed a lovely meal at El Ranchito in the Settlement (which I promised I wouldn't blog about) and then got on I-30 West to head to downtown! :) We made a brief stop at Barnes & Noble where I located a book faster using my iPhone than the store employee could using their system! The iPhone, my friends, rocks!

Soon we were safely in our seats and the show was about to begin! It was interesting for sure. I was amazed at the abilities of those people but it left me wondering how in the world do you get started in something like that? For example, where do you go to school to learn how to contort your body into the shape of an emu? Or how to balance on a rolling coffee can? Or how to old up another person using only your neck? These are all questions I will be seeking answers to. I'll keep you posted! It was a lot of fun though, thanks Deneise for thinking of me! By the way, I didn't feel underdressed AT ALL!! :) Also, just in case anyone was wondering, I've reached my quota of seeing people in tights for like the next fifteen years!

The whole day allowed me to come to this conclusion: I'm thankful that for right now, I can live my life that spontaneously. It leads to lots of fun/crazy/interesting experiences!!

Fun Times

This week has been full of some really fun times! It started Monday night when some great friends came over for dinner. For me, the whole experience was just really great! I don't cook, ever, so I was a little nervous about preparing a meal for them, but I think it all turned out ok. It gave me a whole new respect for all the moms in the world who plan a meal, cook a meal, and clean up after a meal on a daily basis! Monday night was easily the highlight of the week so far!!

Then today, I got to hang out with some of my favorite people in the world! Don't let the fact that they are ten-years-old take away from their greatness. These kids are full of funny stuff and when you get them all together they make me laugh so hard. After school we went to the local Main Event and played some laser tag. I am not sure the teams were balanced but we all had a great time! Here is a picture of the kids in their gear:


I was sure to take the picture in the dark so you couldn't see their faces, you know, internet security and all! :) Just kidding! The iPhone camera lacks a flash. Thanks to their great parents for letting me hang out with them today! I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store.

Football has 4 Quarters

Today I got the opportunity to travel with some good friends (Aggie fans) to College Station, TX to enjoy a little football game. The day started out early, we officially hit the road at about 8, and arrived in Aggieland at about 11:15. This was my second time to attend a game at Kyle Field and I'll give the Aggies credit, 83,000 fans makes the game very exciting. I was pleasantly surprised by the way the Baylor defense was totally hanging tough and keeping us in the game. The offense, unfortunately, only showed up to play about one quarter. It was ridiculous, 70 yards of total offense and 5 completed passes at the end of the third quarter. And, honestly, it wasn't like A&M was just playing amazing defense, we were just stinking it up that bad. I believe the time of possession looked something like; Baylor 9 minutes and A&M 51 minutes. Which brings me to my point, you can't win a football game in 9 minutes, you have to play the whole game, all 4 quarters. So, surprise surprise, Baylor lost again. The final score was 34-10. At least Texas and OU lost too so it will totally take the attention away from Baylor. :)

Here are a few pictures from the game:

This was our view for most of the 1st Quarter, this guy and his sombrero just would not sit down.

This was our view once the guy and his sombrero sat down, much better!

This is how Deneise enjoys an A&M Football game! I was impressed she could read with all that noise! :)
It really was a great day. We had lots of fun and laughed way too much. I am even sportin' a new sunburn, I like to call it "half-baked," because really only one side of my face is red. Thank you so much Deneise, Shellee, and Kelly for taking me along and tolerating my gold shirt. :)

Two days in a row

That's right, two days in a row I have been to Ross. The cool thing is, I got to go tonight with another one of my favorite friends...

It was just about a year ago that I started my second year of teaching and what a year it was! It was incredible; great kids, great parents, and a great sense of family in my classroom. It was a life-changing year for sure. God's fingerprints were all over it. Through a few of those kids God led me to a new church, new perspectives, and many new friends. One of those friends is Kristy, her son was in my class. She is a wife, a mother of 4 boys, a teacher, and so much more. In a way that only God can, he allowed us to become friends throughout the school year. She encouraged me constantly, took the time to get to know me, and helped me in countless ways. Kristy is one of the most intentional, thoughtful, honest, and caring peope I know. She's also very funny. I can't really remember what she was telling me, but, Diet Coke totally almost came out of my nose tonight because I was laughing so hard. We're both "thinkers" so we can have some pretty crazy conversations and I genuinely enjoy every one!!

She's not much older than me, but, when I grow up I hope I'm a lot like her. I'm so thankful that just because the school year ended our friendship didn't.

So, who wants to go to Ross with me tomorrow? :)

I could blog about this

I have had this blog for less than a week and already it has become an interesting part of my life. When something funny, sad, or thought-provoking happens I all too quickly think, "I could blog about this." Well, this evening was filled with some pretty great "I could blog about this" moments.

It all started when my friend Haley spontaneously asked me to meet her and Abby for dinner. Now, you're gonna need some background: Haley and I have been friends since like forever, well probably more like third grade. We went to the same church, the same middle school, the same high school for two years, you get the point. We have known eachother for a long time. Ever since we went away to college, she went to A&M (sick) and I went to Baylor (sic'em), we have become even better friends. We have shared many big moments in life, some we're proud of and some we're not. She took me to get my tattoo (it really was my idea though Dad), I was in her wedding, and I was there when Abby was born (not like right there, but at the hospital). What is so cool to me, is that even though we haven't seen eachother often since we went away to school (about once every five months) we can pick up right where we left off. Most of the time we are laughing about dumb things, saying dumb things, and doing dumb things that we wouldn't do with anybody else. Tonight was a perfect example of this.

So, we started out by meeting at Don Pablo's for dinner. We eat and mostly talk about school (she's a teacher too), then it comes time to pay the bill. "I could blog about this" Moment #1: My Diet Coke cost me $2.30! Are you kidding me? That is just insane. Once I realized how much it was costing me I insisted on sitting there and drinking another glass full. Then, I got the server to bring me more in a to-go cup. I've been very frugal lately. As we were leaving, Haley decides we should go to Marble Slab for ice cream, it's in the same shopping center and she has a coupon!! "I could blog about this" Moment #2: We get to Marble Slab and as Haley is pulling Abby out of the car she realizes that she has had a blow-out. Not just any blow-out, a big, ugly, stinky, all-over-the-place blowout. She blamed cheap diapers, I just laughed really hard. You should have seen the two of us trying to clean it up! Did I mention Haley got it on her shirt? Finally, all is well and we go inside. "I could blog about this" Moment #3: We go to pay for the ice cream and they refuse to take the coupon! It isn't expired and an identical coupon has been used at the same location before. I think that is the last time I trust Haley's coupons.

Next, she decides she needs a new purse, not just any purse, a big, but not too big, neutral, I can carry it in the Fall purse. "I could blog about this" Moment #4: We try Ross first. Now, I'll go with my friends anywhere they want to shop, but, Ross has to be like my least favorite place of all. That all changed when as Haley is "trying on" purse after purse Abby spews all over her. Remember, she already has blow-out remnants on her shirt. Again, I'm laughing pretty hard. In the end, Ross didn't come through. So, we head to Stein Mart. "I could blog about this" Moment #5: As we were walking into the store our eyes immediately went to some lovely hats. Like, really nice. I jokingly put one on and in seconds Haley has whipped out her camera (apparently a new Mom always has it handy) and starts taking my picture! See, we can act pretty juvenile. Next, we try Burlington Coat Factory. "I could blog about this" Moment #6: I wouldn't recommend Burlington Coat Factory. That is all I really should say about it. There was much laughter though. "I could blog about this" Moment #7: Since we were so unsuccessful at our "bargain" shops Haley decides she can spend a little more money, her idea of a little more money, drumroll please, Target. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Target. I just thought she was going to say "let's just go to the mall." She was unsuccessful once more, Abby was hungry, and it was getting late. We decided to call it a night.

Hopefully there won't be too many more days with this many "I could blog about this" moments, but, I'm thankful for this one...I had fun.