Oh hey there...

So I kind of failed on that thirty day challenge thing, huh? Sorry! The enticing world of Law & Order dragged me in, then my fun new Kindle came, and then well the semester started... but alas the excuses could go on for days... so I'll try and get on to the fun stuff.

So, here's 'what's up'.

1- I've come the the conclusion that whenever Daivd Schwimmer will always be Ross. I mean literally, he is never going to be any other character to me. A few weeks ago I was at the gym, and he popped up on some strange movie, and in season two (I believe) of 30 Rock he pops up as Greenzo (please youtube this if you haven't seen it, priceless) but every time I see him I think, "Oh hey, what's Ross doing here?" and not, "Oh hey, it's David Schwimmer!". Sorry Dave, you'll always be Ross to me.

2- This Saturday Zach and I went to see "Just Go With It" which had tons of famous lovelies in it including (but not limited to): Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, and Dave Matthews. Such a cute movie! I was a little sketpical because to be honest I find A. Sandler to be a little weird and crude, but he actually toned down his vulgar personality a little in this movie so I really liked it. Plus um... there's a very interesting scene involving Dave Matthews and a coconut that you won't want to miss... just saying

3- I, Emily, have pretty much given up coffee as a necessity. Now, let's not mistake this for me saying I don't LIKE coffee. I absolutely adore coffee and we're still the best of friends, but I couldn't get myself to drink it without needing creamer and so I kind of started to feel guilty. I'm gradually switching over to tea or to diet coke (which was my original drug of choice) and saving coffee for special occasions so I don't feel guilty about all the creamer (half n half really) that I put in it.

4- So um, I have been toying with confessing with this for a while- and this is number four on my list so you must really like me if you've read this far. But um, I have a secret twitter and talk to some friends who live in various parts of the country whom I've never met on it. I actually received birthday presents and cards from three of them. I know it sounds totally weird, but it's actually really kind of convienent. One, because since I had the whole world at my disposal we actually have things in common. Two, since they're pretty much scattered up & down the east coast with the closest one being I believe seven hours away, I don't have to feel guilty for not ever having time to hang out with them. Alright- go ahead and judge, but I love their friendship and wouldn't trade it for the world.


Oh- and no duh I am not telling you the user name if you ask. One person knows it because their a sneaky little fox, but I'd prefer that they keep it private because sometimes its best that things stay the way they are. Okay I lied, one person, and then Zach- but he doesn't even completely know what a twitter is so I think my secrets safe. But seriously, please don't try and find it- sometimes privacy is nice.

5-  A few weeks ago I read the first book in the Pretty Little Liars series, and I'm not going to lie, I plan on reading the whole series. So interesting! Plus I'm a sucker for anything charm-schooley and New England-y. I know they're kind f 'below my reading level' but if you had to read the 'scholarly textbooks' that I do for my accounting classes, you'd understand what a nice retreat it is from that stuff. You know, sometimes it's nice to read something without hearing words like 'interest', 'materiality', 'assertion', 'financial statements' etc.

Anyway- since 1-5 have been a lot of words I am going to end now with pictures of stuff I like because let's be honest, it'll probably be another month before I update this again.

This yummy tea- Lipton White Tea with Island Mango and Peach Flavor! Add two splenda- YUM!

Pink flowers- and the color pink in general

My fun new Kindle- even though I've hardly been able to use it lately! :(

That spring training has begun!! Phillies time!! So happy that I will be getting to see some of my favorite me back in white and red. (Cliff, I'm not sure if I've told you but I am SO happy to have yo back)

Puppies :o) (like always!) This one is a Westie.

Little Things I've Been Lovin'

Below are some of the little things that I've been loving recently  What have you been loving lately?

Purple-y Nails

So I'm not 100% sure that I feel comfortable enough wearing bright purple nails to work, something about it just screams "This  newbie is unprofessional" but I've had a few days off and painted my nails Orly's "Velvet Rope" on Friday and I adore it. I picked it up a few months ago- for about $6 (cheaper than the OPI and Essie). I figure for the next few days this will be a fun finger color but I'll probably have to accept that for most of the time, it'll be just a toe color. However, last night I was out picking up some Cetaphil cream (my skin has been SO dry lately.. definitely not a "like") and I saw that Sally Hansen had some spring colors and I really liked the lilac color. I bought my friend Amy an OPI in "Do you Lilac It?" for Christmas and this color seemed similar enough and I thought that maybe where it was so pastel I could feel comfortable wearing that color to work. I haven't tried ti out... but I've been leaning towards the purple-y hues for the last month or so. 

iPod Docking Station

Now, you'll have to ignore the nasty smudges on the screen of my iPod, but I've really been loving my iPod docking station lately. I've had my iPod since my birthday last year and rarely used it except for when I was at the gym, and on the rare occasion at work (our office allows you to listen to iPods while you're working). However, on 'Black-Friday' my family went to the Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth, Delaware and Dad and I went in the Sony store to look around because I'd mentioned wanting something to dock my iPod on. We ended up picking out this one, I forget the exact price but it was I think $70ish dollars.. but a part of me thinks it was on sale and we got it for $50... Anyway, that much isn't relavent. I've really been liking this. I find myself turning in my iPod more, and having music on in the background. I also think it's pretty neat that it has two alarms on it. Alarm A and Alarm B which I think is cool because if two share a room, they can use this as an alarm and it'll work for both people.

Yankee Candle 3.7oz Candles

 

Zach's sister, Kate, bought me this little candle for Christmas. Normally I don't buy this size of Yankee Candles (normally because I don't buy Yankee because they're so expensive, but if I splurge I buy the bigger size). That being said, I really like this size... it has really good throw still (how far the scent carries) but it's not bulky, and it look really cute when it's lit. I also  really enjoy the scent of this. I bought the Slatkin & Co. "Twisted Peppermint" back in November which is like a sweet/vanilla peppermint scent. This candle is similar in the 'idea' of the smell in that its sweet and minty but it also smells kind of fresh and not sickeningly sweet. It smells more like a mint after-dinner mint. Overall, I just really like these little candles. They burn 25-40 hours, which is pretty decent, and you can pick up 2-3 scents for the price of one of the large jar candles, which for people who like a bit of variety (me) that's really nice. It's the same reason I love tarts so much. (Thanks Matt & Tara!!) 

Adorable Office Supplies

I picked up these cute pencils at Wal-Mart recently because I always find myself with 1,000 pens and no pencils. I love how cute the colors are! Also for Christmas, my mom got me this cute red/orange zebra large post-it note pad and I'm kind of in lurve. I love adorable office supplies. Maybe it's weird but they just make me happy. I know that sounds ridiculous but they're the little things in day-to-day life that make it fun. 

Weights

  

Again for Christmas, my sister got these 5lb weights for me because I'd mentioned that I wanted to try and tone up my arms more. I've really been liking having them around. What I like most about these particular weights is that instead of being plastic on the outside they're more of a rubber-esque material so they're not slick (which could be a problem if your hands are sweaty!) And yes- that's right. I lift 5lbs.... I fully admit that my arm strength is pathetic.

Pretty Flowers

Not much to say about these except for, who DOESN'T enjoy having fresh pretty flowers around. I'm convinced that having fresh colorful flowers can brighten anyone's day :).

The Little Things

Let your imagination wander and assume what you want as far as the main subject matter (I personally plead my fifth amendment right). But it's moments like these where you remember life's too short and just have to have fun and laugh a little. :) Thought I'd share... Happy Monday everyone!

PS- I suggest turning on something funky like "Cupid Shuffle" while reading this. Much more fun... 

Project Slim Down

Cliche timing as ever, my project slim down started a few days after new years day. I said in my resolutions blog that I wanted to lose some weight because again, I have NO idea what happened this fall, but I just kind of let my general well being go. I was sick all the time, I gained 10lbs, and just in general... was not healthy. So its a new dawn, a new day, it's a new life for me..... just kidding (but do you get the reference?) but tomorrow's always a new day to fresh start if you're unhappy. =I decided it was time to get back on track. I wasn't feeling very confident about myself  and in general I'm just not feeling good in my skin lately. So I have teamed up with my twitter-friend Jill and we're on a mission to lose some pounds and get in shape again!

Goals:
Short-term (5-6 weeks depending on when you count my "start" date)

- I want to lose 5-6lbs by Valentine's Day. I honestly think its pretty doable if I do enough cardio (meaning that I run 4-5 days a week). I mean many people will try to do that in 4 weeks, and I got an extra two weeks on that.
- Drink more water.
- Keep sweets down to ONE small-moderate portion per day (one handful of M&Ms)

Long-term (May 19th, or 18 weeks from yesterday)

-Lose 12lbs
-Drink more water
-Work on toning up arm muscles

Method:
- For the next few weeks until the semester starts I am going to try and run three days during the week, and at least one weekend day.
- When the semester starts I want to run about three days of the "work week" (I know every day probably won't happen so by planning on not getting to the gym every day, I won't be disappointed). And one on the weekend. Okay... so I guess semester and non-semester cardio plans are the same... woops!
- On my days "off" from running I am going to spend approximately 30 minutes using my little dumbbells to work on getting some arm weight, doing a moderate amount of sit ups (nothing crazy, I don't care about having abs), stretching, and yoga type exercise. I am also considering getting some 'exercise dvds' just to mix it up!
- I also want to "plan" on taking one day a week off. My body needs a day to relax, and I need to have a day where I won't feel guilty for wanting to sleep in, or I don't feel like going to the gym!

Ideas to make it fun & interesting

- I've gone ahead and bought theeee cutest food journal in the world (see below). I plan on writing down everything I eat each day, and monitoring my water intake each day.... I also just want to jot down what I do as far as physical activity. As bad as it sounds... I think buying a cute journal to do it in will make me way more likely to do it. I mean- seriously who wouldn't want to whip this cute journal out every day?

2-  My dad bought my mom, sister, and I the most adorable Tervis Tumblers for Christmas (see below) and I think that having a cute cup to carry around will encourage me to drink more water. Plus, this has a straw and I drink a lot more when I drink from a straw. This might sound strange but I swear I get less "full" when I drink from a straw (like I can drink more water- because I dont feel as filled up to capacity). Anyway... I think if this works I'll treat myself to a second tumbler along this journey... because using this same one every day might wear it out! But ONLY if I'm good and do what I say, other wise I'm just buying junk I don't need! (I mean its still really cute- but my theory is that I'm using it for water, so if it's not being used for that purpose, I don't need another one)

 

3- Setting a mid-way goal "treat". My friend Jill (who as I mentioned earlier, I'm doing this with via emailing, thank god for smart phones) suggested that if she had a "treat" at the end she'd feel more motivated. I completely agree, especially if you specifically say that no, if I don't do this I can have that. For example, my treat is that if I lose 5-6lbs by Valentine's day I am allowed to buy myself a cute dress or a new top/sweater for whatever "date" Zach and I plan on going on. If I don't meet it? Tough luck. It's good motivation to get there, because my goal is attainable and reasonable. (Hers, if your curious, is some of the pretty new makeup in MACs new collection or something for Valentine's day too ;)) 

4- Speaking of Jill- my last suggestion, find someone to hold you accountable... and honestly I don't think it should be your husband/boyfriend/fiance (or wife/girlfriend/fiancee). This is kind of for a few reasons. One being that these people sincerely worry about you (and sometimes a little bit too much) and they think that oh you're having a bad day, you should take the day off (which is fine every once in a while, but I think Zach would suggest if I was stressed every day that I take EVERY DAY off :P). Also, I think you might find it 'nagging' if they were constantly asking you if you worked out that day (I'm really guilty of this...). Plus all around I just think it's more fun with a girlfriend (or your buddy) it's a good excuse to chit chat during the day... and I mean you're friends so if you slip up and eat a whole bag of M&Ms (and I don't mean the cute kind you can get at the grocery store... I mean like 1lb bags... lol) they won't judge you and be like oh you're AWFUL, but they'll help you find solutions. 

Alright, this is kind of long but it's something I really wanted to talk about. I just am really excited about this. I have no idea what my big "treat" will be when I lose all 12lbs because it can't be anything that requires too much commitment in advance (for example, a trip on a certain date). Anyway- if you read all this you are absolutely awesome and I really do applaud you!

New Years Resolutions

So- I've kind of been off the wagon for making new years resolutions for I think two or three years- I think I did them my sophomore year of college but that was the last time. So I guess that actually works out to only actually missing one years worth, not too bad. To be honest I love making resolutions about change because I like to thing of having a 'fresh' clean start, but there's not a whole lot I feel the need to "change" this year... so I think this is going to be more of a mix of things I want to do in 2011 mixed in with some resolutions.

#1- Get back to the gym, and vary my workout routine. For almost the entire month of December I got out of the habit of hitting the gym. Part of it was that December was a really stressful month for me between work, school, finals, and getting a pretty horrendous "won't go away cold." The other part was that I think I just needed some time "off". I asked for freehand weights for Christmas and my sister got them for me, and I have a yoga mat, so while I want to get back into running too, I also want to work on toning up some muscles. But most definitely incorporated into this category is to lose the 6-7lbs I've gained over the fall. (Yes, the little cliche bells are going off.)

#2- Read more for fun. I think I underestimate sometimes how much reading keeps me relaxed this past fall/summer I hardly read for fun but with the purchase of my kindle I am going to attempt to take 30minutes a day to read just for fun. I should have a little more time this spring since I'll only have one accounting class (technically two I guess...)

#3- Relax more. I don't know WHAT happened this fall but I felt almost constantly stressed and burnt out (hence why I think I got four colds and needed a month break from the gym after finals). I really don't want to do that to myself again. I only get to be this young once- I want to enjoy it.

#4- FINALLY make some wedding plans! We have a date set, but since it's not until the end of 2012 I've never bothered to start looking into making actual plans. This obviously won't be until the later part of 2011 but it's time to start!

#5- Start saving for a town-home with Zach.

#6- Take a CPA review course, and at least one part of the CPA.

#7- Take at least a "mini" vacation (3-5 days) with Zach. Not sure where, or with what money, but I haven't been on an honest to God vacation since I was probably in 8th grade.

#8- Run more 5k's.

#9- Learn to cook more things, and try to expand my pallet.

#10- Sleep more! I've gotten into an awful habit of getting about 4-6.5 hours of sleep a night for five or six days in a row and that is NOT good for you!

Day 4- Favorite Books

Another "I can't pick just one" post- so I am going to turn this into my favorite books (note the s ;))

Anything by Sophie Kinsella, loved the Shopaholic Series and I also really like her other books too- very light and fun.

Harry Potter Series. OBVIOUSLY. Who doesn't love the Harry Potter books? I think my favorite book is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Charlotte's Web! A Childhood favorite book. I think I read it 100 times... something about cute pigs! Can't resist!

Anything by Mary Kay Andrews! All her books make me want to take a vacation to the deep south and collect things. I really recommend "Hissy Fit" it was the first book I read by her!

Marian Keyes- Sushi for Beginners. Loved it!

Cecelia Ahern- PS I love you- way better than the movie!

Hester Browne- Little Lady Agency  (And then all of the subsequent "little lady" books!)

Favorite TV Shows

Pft. This isn't even going to be a "Top five" type of thing- I can't pick so I am going to just tell you all of my favorite shows! :) Be warned... this list may concern you... because its certain to be really long. Soooo in no particular order lets get started

Currently Releasing New Episodes.....

Law and Order SVU

Bones

House

One Tree Hill

30 Rock

Pretty Little Liars

The Secret Life of the American Teenage

The Craig Ferguson Show

Teen Mom

House Hunters

How Stuff's Made

Family Guy

Classics....

Friends

Seinfeld

Everybody Loves Raymond

Dawson's Creek

7th Heaven

The Drew Carey Show

Day 2: Favorite Movie!

I know! I'm late- but I was so enthralled in Kindle vs. Nook research last night- and then I "needed" to watch some Law and Order SVU that I just simply didn't have enough time!!! As far as favorite movies go... we're going to have to settle for a "Top Five" because I can't do favorites! These are in no particular order....

Patch Adams



As Good As It Gets

My Best Friend's Wedding



Office Space

Bridget Jone's Diary

Day 01- My Favorite Song

Oooh. Favorite Song! Favorites are always tough... so when faced with this decision I think I'll go into iTunes and see which song has been played the most. Although I think the song I am leaning towards might not even be in my iTunes library!!

According to iTunes my favorite song is "Sorority Girl" by Luke Bryan- which I find kind of funny because I'm not even a sorority girl. But that's not my favorite song! And although it's really a hard decision I can narrow it down to two.  "Drives Me Crazy" - Five Young Cannibals and "Forever Young"- Rod Stewart.

Drives Me Crazy- Fine Young Cannibals


Forever Young- Rod Stewart



PS- It was just as I suspected neither one of these songs are actually in my iTunes library! And I think that's why they're actually my favorite. I only hear them once in a blue moon so they're a treat to my ears!

30 Day Challenge

Since I've gotten kind of lazy at my blogging I decided what a fun way to start back than with a "30 Day Challenge." In an ideal world I'll update my blog for each of the next 30 days based on the following guidelines!

The 30 day blog challenge.
Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic <--- I don't know what that means so... day 15 will have to be free-thought!
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 01 will be in a seperate post to follow this one... I just wanted to do an introduction. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! <3