Blast from the Past

Instead of doing anything that I am supposed to do, and REFUSING to go to sleep at 8:45pm, I decided to go on my facebook and look at all 806 photos of me and reminisce.

Boy was that fun and I got a smile on my face of the "good ol' days!" Don't get me wrong, I love my life now, but there is something about best friends and college that equals sheer craziness and the best of memories....

So here I go....on to share with you some past events in my life that may leave you scratching your head...unless of course you are in these pictures and know exactly why I am smiling. :) I have also included just some fun memories too.

Keep in mind, I am telling it like it was/is. Friends in these pics, dont hate....appreciate:)

I share this picture of who we would call "the core four." These girls love to have fun, love Jesus and push on another to grow closer to the Lord. You will also see, we sure know how to have a good time!




Hence these pictures. For our college graduation, we decided to have an 80's party fully equipped with music, blacklights, and neon brights! The only thing missing was the fanny packs...which we purposely left at home!

When we were not getting ready for the 80's, we were rabble-rousing in the 'hood. Funny story...we decided to make a "senior video" at like 2 am on campus. Totally harmless fun until a police officer showed up (who was really just patrolling and were were in no way doing anything wrong)....some friends...(remaining nameless) jumped in to the bushes while I walked out casual. Ok Ok, some will say I walked out with my hands up....and truth be told, that is quite possible:)

Lets jump right into Halloween. I have had some pretty "fun" costumes in my day!

This was probably one of my better costumes.

If you can guess what were are here....you will win a prize. But truth be told, we dont even know what we are! HAHA just a mess!

In the tradition of the sorority....house wars was always something that was quite fun and quite competitive. If you do not know me well....I can be quite competitive and quite loud....so lets just say house wars made for a grand old time.

We lived in the "Alpha House" so we were escaped prisoners from "alphatraz!"

I am so blessed to have the friends I have, and cannot wait to make more memories!

So I guess I must end with this..... Love God, Cherish Friends, Nurture Relationships!

Father's Day Celebration!

Though a little late, I wanted to share with you my Father's Day Extravaganza!

I decided that I wanted some special daddy daughter time with my dad for FD. I had been chompin at the bit to get together with my dad and this was a perfect time to be able to do it.

I wanted to celebrate my daddy, NedFrancis "Beast"

Two fridays ago, I told him I would take him out to dinner wherever he wanted to go. Through much deliberation, he decided to go up to Valley View Casino for their "AMAZING" Buffet! Now mind you....I had Gastric Bypass Surgery, how in the world would I be able to get my money's worth at a buffet?!?! Not to mention....my dad had Gastric Bypass Surgery too. Well, I decided that I would have to face that demon eventually and this would be a perfect opportunity to see how I would manage at a buffet!

Well, so we got there.....and waited and waited and waited in line! I could only imagine the smorgasbord that awaited me.....I am getting hungry right now as I think about it! I kept telling myself....moderation....moderation....moderation. Nothing is worth getting sick over. So finally we got seated.....I look around me like a child who had just seen Disneyland for the first time.

FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Real FOOD, lobster.....crab....salad....burritos....you name it and it was there! Now to decided where to start....and what to get. I decided the best approach was to get a little bit of everything that looked good and try it. If I liked it, I could always get more. I knew my little pouch could only hold so much, but I would be wise and eat a little.

So Round 1 Looked like this....

Can you even believe that Lobster? I know I know the pictures are not the best quality, but man it was GOOD! On the plate is also some Caesar Salad (really good!) shrimp cocktail, chili relleno and some pasta. I ate a few bites, but mostly ate the lobster and the salad. I did not want to waste my stomach on anything that did not fancy the taste buds.

So I went back for more lobster.

"You are afraid of the claw!"

So I ended up with this left on my plate....
Yep, basically all that I grabbed was still left over! I think I did quite well. The food was so so so delicious though.

As everyone has heard...."save room for dessert." Well, to my delight, there was Sugar Free Dessert! I could not believe it! Oh my goodness I can actually have a little snack. Luckily I did save room from dessert. They had cheesecake, pie, cookies, and ice cream! I opted for the chocolate chip cookie and peanut butter cookie and some icecream. My daddy opted for the cheesecake and the pie!

This is the after picture. I was perfectly content with taking only one bite of each dessert. It was good, but I also know that it has no benefit to my body, so I only tried a little bit.

BUT, to answer your question....was it good????? OH YEAH!!!! SF dessert is so yummy!

When I finished....my pouch was content, not horribly full, but content! I was so glad.

So if we were keeping score...

Emily-1 Overzealous temptation/craving- 0

In terms of bang for the buck, though.

Valley View Casino-1 Post surgery Emily-0

I think Valley View was laughing all the way to the bank with the amount we spent for the little we ate. But....would I do it again...ABSOLUTELY...anything to spend such valuable time with my daddy!

***A funny note: I got carded to make sure I was 21! HAHA seriously I have always looked older for my age...now I get carded for buying lottery tickets or going to a casino. HAHA a modern day Benjamin Button I guess:)

Fashion Find Fridays (East Coast Time) :)

This week concludes with another addition to Fashion Find Fridays. I missed last week, so I thought I would get it out early and run on East Coast Time :)

This week also concludes with some exciting things on the news front.....

1. I got a new car!!! My mom sold me her car and she bought a new one! I am so excited to have a new car with less miles! Thanks mom:)

2. I sold my old car! I knew I needed to sell my old car and I sold it! I am going to miss that car. It is a great car and will be for the person who bought it.

3. I am working Extended School Year (Summer School). It is so funny because I was so jazzed to have a few months off for summer and day one of sleeping in I thought to myself....I am bored already! So I was needed for ESY and now I get to work with the kiddos that I love. I will still have a month off in August, but I will be able to have funds to fund my month off:)

Ok, Ok, on to my fashion finds.....Surprisingly they are not from Target. I stepped out of my comfort zone and walked into the Gap. I could never fit into the Gap, but I thought to myself "shoot 114 pounds down, I should be able to find something!" And, so I did.

Check out these shorts! They are brown/grey lined tweed shorts! Granted, they are a bit warm for summer, but I can wear them with a tank and be fine. During fall, I can wear these with leggings or tights and a sweater. Regardless, I got an awesome deal.

Originally Cost: $49.99
I Paid: $9.98
I saved a WHOPPING: $41.01




Now onto the shirt! I actually got this shirt at C28 (a Christian clothing store). I originally went in there to buy my dad his father's day gift and saw that these shirts were on sale. Now, I am not one who usually wears Christian clothing. Don't get me wrong, I am not against it, but I find that I want my faith to be lived out in my life too. So, I bought my dad his shirt and saw how cute this shirt is and it is not so "in your face, I am a Christian." That is just not my personality, .....So same story basically....I thought I could never fit into C28 clothing! Well, as you can see, I totally do!

So what did it cost me?
Should have Cost: $21.99
I bought 2 Shirts for $30
Technically, this shirt was only $8 because I was for sure going to buy the one for my dad so I just added an extra $8 for this shirt.
Did I technically save money??? That my friends is debatable :)

You can't really see the shirt detail, but it has the "not of this world" NOTW on the front and a Bible verse from Revelation on the back. Super subtle, super comfy and super cute.


Ok and just for fun....I wanted to add 2 more pictures of my hair, where I dont look disheveled and tired. So, here they are for your enjoyment.

6 month post-op Update

Just a few quick updates.....

Last week I went to the doctor and met with the nutritionist for my 6 month appointment. I can not believe it has been six months already! But I am doing pretty well. I am down 114 pounds....and counting, as it changes everyday :)

As for health and blood work, my vitamins levels are pretty good. I was on the higher level of B1, so I will be reducing that, but my B12 was on the lower side, which is interesting because my fingers were getting really tingly and that is a sign of a deficiency. Everything was within normal limits but those were the two that I am needing to either reduce or increase.

I will be adding an iron component to my vitamin regimen too, which if you did not know, you need to take calcium and iron 2 hours a part otherwise they counteract each other.

So, here is the current vitamin regimen

2 Flinstone sour chewable multivitamins Daily

2 Calcium and Vitamin D Chewables Daily

B1 Tablet 2x per week

SubLingual (under the tongue) B12 3x per week

I will be adding the Iron as soon as I can find a good supplement.

As for my side pain, it is persisting, so I go back to the doctor in a few weeks to follow up with him.

That's it for the update, but a few blog posts to look forward too.....

1. Fashion Find Fridays
2. Father's Day Celebration

Be Excited:)

Night out and New Hair

I guess I will not be too mean... I think I have made you wait long enough.

But before you get to see my hair, I wanted to show you the last night out with my long hair. This night, I was all dressed up for a friends Bachelorette Party. We sure had a blast.


Ok ok enough of my cute outfit....which, by the way, was featured on Fashion Find Fridays a few weeks back :) I bought the jacket at Old Navy a while back, but just LOVE it!

Ok here is my new hair. I posted it on facebook to, so you may have seen it there.....Mind you, it is late, no makeup and I am tired, but I wanted to get these pics out for you.

As you can see, I cut off a TON of hair. But, I just love it....next step: MORE BLONDE!

NOT ME MONDAY!!!

No I am NOT pretending it is Monday so I can make this post:)

While attending a friends Bachelorette Party, I certainly did NOT see a lady manhandling a rat on the side of the road in downtown San Diego. Also, on this trip I did NOT get stuck behind the "drunk van" cops only to miss my left turn becuase they decided to close it off.

I am also NOT going to admit how immature I am to have a texting war with a friend where each word in our sentences had to start with 'b' and, no, I did NOT save them to my phone because the were so hilarious! I am 24...and no I did NOT act like I was 15.

This week I did NOT go shopping (fashion find friday's to come) and notice I had my shirt inside out. And of course I did NOT think "eh oh well" and proceed to leave it there. And no I totally did NOT try on clothes twice and still leave it inside out. Nope NOT that lazy.

I certainly did NOT cut off my hair today....and I am NOT going to make you wait until tomorrow or the next to see a picture, when I can actually style it myself. No, I am NOT that mean!

And this one goes out to a girl we will call HLN. When describing our favorite bagel place in Seattle, she did NOT tell me "yeah there are signs all over the place saying it was 'certified Jew' " HLN, I am sure you did NOT mean "Kosher." Dont worry I will NOT share this to the blogging world, nor will I continue to laugh at it!

Fashion Find Fridays

This week comes with a budget in mind.....ok ok I know EVERY week comes with a budget in mind, but these purchases I was extremely proud of....

Any guesses where I got these?

You guessed it, TARGET!

Disclaimer: I am not a photographer, nor do I claim to have the best feet, but if you buy shoes, I gotta model them. ENJOY :)

Purchase 1:
Cost: $3.24
Should Have Cost: $12.99
Saved: $9.75


Purchase 2:
Cost: $6.24
Should Have Cost: 24.99
Saved: $18.75


Your Turn:know of any good sales? Please let me know and it might be posted on here next week:)

Not Me (YOU) Monday!

Besides the fact that I did NOT completely miss a green light because I was spacing out, I really had an uneventful week....BUT, I can't say that about a few people I encountered in Target today! So here....my Not Me Monday is dedicated to you!


Dear Woman in the Bathroom: Don't worry, I totally did NOT see you walk out of the bathroom without washing your hands....and no worries, I did NOT think to myself....."YOU'RE NASTAY" and no I was NOT tempted to follow you to make sure I didn't touch anything you touched.

Dear Boy in the Deodorant Aisle: Do NOT fret.....I will NOT tell anyone how much Axe deodorant you were spraying on your wrist. First of all, you are right, you do NOT put it on your pits, you totally put spray it on your wrist! Secondly, it is NOT cool anymore to put only one scent on your body, but you MUST spray each Axe flavor to try it out. Do NOT worry, I was NOT secretly giggling at you...and NO that was NOT me choking because no worries, Axe does NOT stink...it is good.

Now it is your turn.....please do share you NOT Me (YOU) Monday stories!