“Hold a friend's hand through times of trial, let her find love through a hug and a smile; but also know when it is time to let go-for every one of us must learn to grow.”- Author Unknown

Spring came along and I started my final few months at Big Bend.......

I debated writing about certain things that went down in April because I didn't talk to hardly anyone about it because I was embarrassed, but I think it was a major event that rocked my life this year and since we are reviewing.....well it wouldn't be complete without this. 

I had been involved with ASB my entire career at Big Bend and it was one of the best experiences of my life, being involved with that kept me sane and feeling like I was doing something worth while! I loved my fellow officers and advisor they where my friends and I cared for them a great deal, I loved being apart of the behind the scenes stuff and serving on committees and almost everything about it I enjoyed a great deal, the memories and experiences I had serving as an officer I'll cherish always, I got the opportunity to do a lot of amazing stuff, and anyway it was a huge blessing!

The beginning of Spring Quarter I ended up losing my ASB job, they operate on a 3 strikes you are out system but because I'm me, I had several slip ups all year..... I didn't submit a written absence request for 2 events in the same weekend, I was late once (yes that's right I said once), and I missed 2 meetings. I have my excuses and reasons for all of these things, but mistakes are mistakes and regardless of my excuses they cost me my job. I was absolutely sick for months about it, I still cringe a little thinking on it and I didn't even tell my family because I was ashamed that in a years time I had managed to lose two jobs. 

The next few months after that was the most depressed I think I've ever been, I was feeling pretty low, mainly because I realized that I can't just coast a long on my jokes and personality, that maybe now I actually have to be responsible and dependable. Making people laugh only gets you so far, if you don't have a good work ethic.... people can only be beguiled by your charm for so long before they start to get annoyed. I guess to sum it up I was sad because I realized no matter how hard I tried to justify my actions I was still in the wrong and if I wanted to keep a real job I was gonna need to change how I work. Old habits die hard, I still struggle, but admitting is the first step....... right?

Fortunately life wasn't all gloomy..... I had some things to keep me distracted.........

April-

 if you remember April was tulip Festival time along with a trip to the zoo and Children's Museum in Seattle

As well as my first trip to Chuck E. Cheese.......a milestone really!

May-

I got a chance to visit some of my peeps in Utah, and got a sweet tour of the BYU campus...oh and my first visit to Tocano's (delicious!)

 

I invested in a new camera, that has lots of cool tricks!

Including my most favorite......the "Color Accent" feature

Then of course maybe my favorite event of the Spring.......

The Lip Sync contest @ Springfest

This years theme, music from the 70's.......

Oh yeah that's my homemade disco ball costume!!!!!! Lady Ga Ga eat your heart out!

I was going for hippie chic........ turned out more Taylor Swifts fat sister! :)

I love this dress! I also possibly could be mistaken for Princess Fiona

This is me accessing my inner (or outer?) Dolly Parton!

This little boys name is Devon... he is a crack up, I invited him up on stage to do the hustle with me... and he dominated!

This is the end of the show and we were just about to announce the winners!

I'm a little sad I won't be here next year for Springfest, I hosted this baby 3 yrs. in a row....I like to think they can't possibly go on with out me, but meaning as they've been doing it for 25 yrs. I'm sure they'll be just fine....... so I'll have to make do I guess!

Summer gets really exciting.............bet you can't wait?

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”- Bill Vaughn

Wow 2010 flew by eh? holy moses did I have a stock pile of a year, lots of events happened that I never even blogged about...I got pictures for DAYS!!!!!! I need to clear some space on my storage devices and because this is the last week of the year, I've got a doozy of a "year in review" for you!


January-


Out with the Blonde............

In with the Brunette!

New year meant it was time to switch up the hair and try something different so Anne Baker was kind enough hook me up with a sweet dye job!  I got lots of compliments and felt like a new lady!


Also January kicked of the start of maybe my most favorite job to date!



Now I've worked ALOT of different gigs in my day, but one stands out as being the most fun/ easiest job for my money!


And that was playing Big Bend's mascot Thor.

50 bucks a game for a solid 15 minutes of actual work, I'd dance around during time outs and toss out Big Bend shirts to the crowd..... I got free gatorade and popsicles... I got to wear this sweet ice vest under the outfit to keep me cool and for the most part nobody knew who I was, so I could be as crazy as I wanted to! Well that's a lie people did know it was me, I thought I had them fooled, but I was wrong....doesn't matter still had a lot more courage with that mask on!


Not many people can say they where their school's mascot, I'm sure I could dominate many an icebreaker game with that little factoid!

February-


Ah February....love was in the air

Just not for me!


Valentine's day was uneventful.........so if you remember I threw another kick butt party!

and it was the highlight of my month!



I dressed up as Ga Ga

And here are some of my other personal favorites from "the headbanger's ball"


That's Axel Rose, Steven Tyler, and Slash

and all 6 members of KISS????

Yeah that was good times fo sho!


March-


Don't ask why I didn't blog about our stake play this year I am ashamed I never got around to it!

From December to the end of March we worked on the Production of Hello Dolly, and it was another job well done if you ask me! I had another part that I loved (Ernestina Money) and lots of sweet costumes, not to mention lots of fun times with my stake play family!


Here are some of my favorite shots from that show!


The whole cast and crew

Sis. Ceja was like my personal assistant...she's the BEST!

Let's face it... Brittany and I are SUPERSTARS!

me with my love interest Horace!

Us lovely ladies on the spirit of 14th street float!

"Sweet Rosie O'Grady...My Sweet Little Rose!"

no blue mondays in those sunday clothes!

I was the old lady in the hat shop keeping Cassie in line!

Jessica and I made front page news.......a thank you!

At the cast party I was awarded one of the Director's awards... got my name printed on it and everything! I was pretty proud!

First 3 months of the year were busy busy like always........... Stay tuned for Spring time!

"Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever. " -Author Unknown

My Grandma Dorothy Schaat passed away Wednesday Oct. 13th.


 She was the last of my Grandparents, and I knew this day was coming, but it doesn't matter how prepared you are for stuff like this, it's still weird and it still makes you sad, and I just would like to take some time to put into words everything that's been running through my mind as a result.


Grandma had a stroke over a month ago which left her with a pretty skeptical recovery, the doctors weren't sure if she'd walk again, but you know you can never trust that kind of prognosis, miracles happen all the time, right? She had several complications while in the hospital. and as a result was only really coherent a few times and was able to somewhat communicate with visitors when they stopped by, The last time I saw her somewhat awake, she told me how sorry she was I had to see her like that. It kinda broke my heart a little.

So, the first week of Oct. early Sunday morning she suffered a 2nd stroke leaving her almost brain dead, at that point my Mom and her siblings didn't have much choice but to have the nurses extend to her comfort measures and just let nature take it's course. For about  a week an a half she hung in there, and we were all really surprised because at the time it just seemed like forever! And we just didn't understand how in such a weakened state, with no food, barely any water, Pneumonia, and no medicine other than morphine that
 her body could hold on as long as it did. We blamed Aunt Francis for feeding her so much garlic!

After a couple days they moved her to a nursing home and It was really difficult to walk into that place I mean it just smelled like depression and death, It made me wanna pull a Patch Adams on the residents there, because I can't imagine it being the most uplifting place to live out your final days but  anyway as dreary as the conditions and reason for being there was I'm thankful for the bounding time I got in with my Mom and my Aunts, maybe that's why she stuck around as long as she did, so we could all come together and share some laughs.



If any of you remember I blogged about my G-Ma Schaat for her 80th birthday a couple years ago and told all my favorite stories regarding her, the time she gave my Dad pear body splash for Christmas, my first lesson in harmonizing, and of course my most favorite the time she trimmed my picture down to make me look skinny. She was the relative I got the most funny material from, you just never knew what funny thing she was gonna say or do next...... I don't know what I'll do without her now!



I feel a little bad because I never realized how much my Grandma and I had in common until l heard about what she was like growing up. My Aunt Marianne said she was the one that knew all the words to the popular songs of her day, and her money was often spent on the purchasing of the latest records, She loved to dance, even up until the very end of her life she hated to miss the dances at the Senior Center every Thursday night. I was always curious where my passion for music came from, I had assumed it was from my Dad's side, but after hearing those stories I really think it came from her. Maybe the genre's of music aren't the same, Grandma really loved country western, and she even learned how to yodel, well I love Hip Hop music, and I like to get my rap on occasionally, but the love for music is the same. Also I certainly hope I live to be the ripe old age of 82 and still find a way to get myself to the dance floor.

I will miss her a great deal, I loved her very much, all her crazy moments aside, I know she loved me and wanted what was best for me! She had a great part in the building blocks of my spirituality and her example of faithfulness will be one that I remember always!

These pictures are ones I took when some of my dear relatives came to visit while G-Ma was still in the hospital, and then the ones from when we traveled down to Rexburg/St. Anthony for her service.


Aunt Marianne, Aunt Elaine, and Madison

Me and My Uncle Pete

Aunt Jenifer, Aunt Francis, and Mom

My Mom and her Siblings

The road trip down was actually kind of fun, I made sure we had tunes the whole family could agree on, and I didn't need to bust out my i pod for personal enjoyment once!



This picture is probably my most favorite from the whole trip!

Halfway through we stopped at this little Irish pub restaurant, it was super delicious!

Mom and I raided Grandma's jewelry box and brought her brooches for us all to wear in her honor. Pictured here is my Cousin Paige, My Sister Amy, Myself, and my Cousin Maddie!

Well it isn't the whole family, but it was everyone that was there!

Just the 4 of Us

My Cousin Jake and I!

True Story....I haven't seen him since I was a Freshmen in High School, so it was really great to reconnect with him! We are very close in age, and he'd often spend the summers in Moses and our Moms would attempt to put us through fat camp by making us walk everywhere and signing us up for things like tennis camp.....well maybe that was just one summer, but anyway We also took drama together in High school, so needless to say we have memories, and I realized I really missed that kid, super glad I got to see him!









This is the video Uncle Pete put together






Thanks for the memories G-Ma Schaat! Until we meet again!

"Ever Been Called Fatty Emily"- weightloss email in my inbox

As most of you have noticed on my facebook, I've been on a diet and losing weight! For 6 weeks to be exact and I've lost a total of 32 lbs. Now I'm sure a lot of red flags are jumping up and some of you are like HOLY CRAP are you eating? Well please rest assure I am not starving myself and I am on a legit Dr. ssupervised diet and for the last 3 weeks I've wanted to blog about what I'm doing, mainly because many of you have inquired about what it is exactly. Let's start from the beginning.......


So right after graduation, Angie put in a good word for me at Dr. Earl's office and I got hired, and was super stoked because not only did I not have to beat the streets for months trying to find work, but I also could dress up and actually do my hair for the my job.....which after working at Safeway was a blessing and a half......but I digress.

A good friend of Dr. Earl's named Bill Waites, was on this program called Ideal Protein and lost 60lbs in 3 months. So Dr. Earl decided to try it out in his clinic and needed someone on board to do the diet as well as "Coach" other patients who eventually signed up, and I bet you can guess who got nominated......This girl!


As most of you know, it wasn't gonna kill me to drop a few pounds and I had spoken with Dr. Earl who is also my Bishop in the Singles ward about the need for a weight loss program and what do you know, everything just kind of came together I got a job and a diet all in less then a month!

OK back on track...

So what is Ideal Protein? Well, it's sort of a marriage of the Atkins Diet and Nutri-system. It was studied in the same place as Atkins and has the same premise with the low carb, high protein, but I am not allowed as much cheese and meat as I want, and I'm not consuming all the saturated and trans fats that comes along with that diet as well, so you're welcome heart!

Anyway, Ideal Protein makes a variety of packaged foods that are all powdered and you pretty much just add water, in addition you have to eat 4 cups of vegetables a day and at dinner your choice of a lean meat. I guess the thing that sets this diet apart from the rest is that because of the high protein, and limited carbs and sugars you're body goes into a state they call Ketosis which means it's burning fat, not muscle mass. Also with this protocol if you don't cheat you lose 3-5 lbs a week, no plateauing, every week you should lose if you're body is in Ketosis.


So if you can handle no dairy, bread, pasta, fruit, or root based vegetables, then by golly this is the diet for you! OK yeah the diet is really restrictive, but the results are quick, and that makes it SOOOOOO worth it!


OK picture time.......I've noticed the results mostly in my face, although my clothes fit great, and I feel great, and I'm about the weight I was when I was a Senior in High School, so in 6 weeks I lost the weight that took me 8 yrs. to gain.


This picture was taken the Sunday before I started IP.

This is last week at the Rodeo

Needless to say it's exciting to see my 2nd chin disappear....I'd like to say goodbye old friend, but I think I'm better off without it!

Now I've been on plenty of diets, but this is the longest I've stuck with any kind of weight loss program, and I just need so say that it helps immensely when people are cheering you on a long the way, so I just wanna say Thanks so much to all of you who have been so incredibly supportive, it really has been super motivating, and I can't thank you all enough for your kind words! I mean I still have a long way to go, but I'm so motivated to keep going and your compliments and words of encouragement have made this journey easier!
Thank you a million times over!

"Sittin' up in my room, back here thinkin' bout you!"- Brandy

What have I been up too.....well meaning as it's been almost a month since I last filled everyone in on the dream that is my life, A LOT of things have I been up too!!!! But too much for one post, so let's take this piece by piece shall we?



I've been working on redecorating my room pretty well since I moved in with Angie, but because I get so distracted by flashy things and my mind changes with ever TLC home improvement show I watch, it took me forever to settle on an idea, but finally I stuck with my guns!


My room is a sky blue color, so I decided black and white was the way to go, so as to not distract from the cool color my room already was (plus I was way too lazy to paint it myself even if I wanted too!) and maybe also partly due to my increasing interest in zebra print and the damask pattern that is so popular these days.

I spent hours searching eBay, every time I went to Ross, or Target I checked things out and collected little doodads, the last few months I even checked out Home Depot and Lowes (for the first time ever mind you) as well as a few smaller shops around town so I could finally put it all together. Let me tell you ladies, I do not know how some of you decorate an entire house, I would go mad.... to many decisions, too many choices, too small of a budget! A person could spend a small fortune on decor if they are not careful, holy crap, some of the most useless things are CRAZY expensive, but I digress!


I kind of got inspired by stores like Forever 21, and Closet Space (a small store in moses) hence a lot of the mannequin like lady figures, and I decided a splash of hot pink here and there wouldn't hurt either!


Here I give you the finished product (sorry no before and after!)

I also went a little vinyl crazy, Above you'll notice the dress vinyl, my headboard is a vinyl sticker, as well as floral motif in the corners, it is probably my most favorite way to decorate a wall! Because it's easy and it looks SWEET!

I should warn you I attempted to hang my zebra mirror myself, which explains why it's a little off, and perhaps it might stay that way, because I've made no attempt to fix it, but I just wanted you to know... that I know, so don't judge!

Also you might remember my friend Joe (the one who pranked my car?) well to repent of his actions he became my handyman for the week, because not only did he hook up and hang my iron wrought mini chandelier, but.........

He also helped me transform this........

Into this.........

It only took about 8 cans of spray paint, and three trips to home depot to find the right sized handles, but I think it came together nicely!

Coupled with some of the trinkets I've had and been collecting, I ended up being pretty excited about how it all just matched up. 

PS... you should also relish it, because this may be the cleanest you'll ever see my room!

SO yeah, it took forever, but I'm happy it was finally accomplished, and I'm proud of how it looks! Yay for finally being decisive and sticking with something!

Stay tuned for more evidence of Emily growing up and doing big girl stuff!

"Of course, you don't have to take *my* word for it." - LeVar Burton

Living with a toddler means you get to watch all sorts of sweet children's programming. I think I've watched sesame street more in the past year then I ever did growing up, I'm consistently amazed at the stuff they have on TV for kids these days, don't get me wrong I love me some Yo Gabba Gabba, because it's crazy enough to be totally awesome, and just recently we've added Oobi to the mix, and well that's show is nuts, but I'm completely fascinated by it, anyway all these kiddy shows got me thinking about some of my favorites growing up.


Like I said, I'm certain I caught "The Street" from time to time, I  watched Barney on occasion although I must admit I was borderline too old for that show, but sometimes it was the only thing on. My memories are a bit fuzzy but I know Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo where regular programs in my line up, back when I was super little, but these ones stuck out the most in my memory of programs I couldn't get enough of as a child.


Soooooo Here goes......................

My Top 5 Favorite Kiddy Shows

Reading Rainbow-








To this day, this theme song stirs something emotional in me! If I had to name a favorite television theme song it would be this one! I was a pretty good reader growing up, so this show was right up my alley, I also had a slight crush on the host LeVar Burton, He just seemed so kind and genuine! Anywho, Reading Rainbow will always have a special place in my heart, it stirred my desire to read and use my imagination, and to that I must say thanks!









Lamb Chops Play Along-









For the most part I think Ventriloquists are kinda weird, and a little...well a lot creepy, but for whatever reason, Shari Lewis did not freak me out, I think if I had to choose someone other then Bette Midler, to steal a career from it might be hers, I mean she sang, she danced, she did magic tricks, and she did various voices for all her puppets......this all obviously screams Emily! The songs, and some of the tricks she did have stuck with me to this day and I find myself humming tunes from that show even now!

David the Gnome-





Honestly, this show was usually on before Eureka's Castle and that is the only reason why I really watched it
, one life lesson I learned from this show is that you cannot block a sneeze with a simple finger under the nose, it may subside it, but it will always come back with vengeance! So thanks David the Gnome! Thanks for helping me kill time until Eureka was on!







Eureka's Castle-



One word Magellan..... Magellan the good natured dragon with his crazy cumbersome tail that crashed into things and got him into trouble, was my favorite character, forget Eureka, she was just a sorceress in training.... but MMagellan, MMagellan was legit, he had a sweet blanket that had polka dots that moved around and entertained him, and his pets "the slurms" ... which were pretty much just clay rolled into the shape of worms, but still sweet! I loved Magellan, and I loved Eureka's castle!




Sharon, Lois, and Bram's Elephant Show-





I still don't know exactly how the elephant fit into this show, he didn't even talk...... but this show started in  Canada, so that should explain a lot! Much like Lamb Chops Play Along, this show was loved by me mainly because of the songs. I mean who doesn't love "Skinamarinki dinki dink"? And Every time Sharon would say "I Love Your Singin'!" I knew she was talking to me! Just thinkin' about it makes me smile!



What were some of your favorite kiddy shows?