Seattle 2010

Phil and I decided to take a trip to Seattle for our Christmas presents to each other. I think this was the best Christmas present I have ever received, we had an amazing time together in an awesome city. Here is a recap of what we did!

We stayed in the Mediterranean Inn in the Lower Queen Anne area. This was a great downtown location. It technically wasn't in downtown Seattle, but it was 2 blocks from the Seattle Center and a short monorail ride into the heart of the city. It was nice because it wasn't super busy and loud but still felt like the city. We really like the city life and feeling the city so that was awesome.

We got to town around 10:30 am so we couldn't check into our hotel quite yet. We dropped our bags and headed for the Pacific Science Center in the Seattle Center. While we were there we saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in IMAX which was AWESOME, then we headed into the Harry Potter traveling exhibit. Seattle is the last stop for the exhibit so it was cool to get to see it. You weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was amazing to see the props and costumes from the films. Everything had so much detail, it was so cool. The chess piece that Ron uses in the first film is featured in the IMAX building so I got to take a picture.
After being Harry Pottered out, we went into the regular exhibits. At this point I was starting to get tired of looking at things so we kind of rushed through.

We took the monorail, which is super fast by the way, and ended up at Westlake Mall-which was awesome. I hope to get to actually go around the whole mall and shop next time we are there. There's also a Nordstrom's and Macy's buildings across the street in the front of and behind the mall building. From the mall, we walked down toward the harbor and ended up in Pike Place Market. We quickly walked through Post Alley to get down to the waterfront so we could eat at Phil's favorite spot-Ivar's. At this point it was raining and a little chilly so we ate in the heated building instead of on the pier to feed the seagulls. The shops were closing down by the time we were done eating, so we decided to head back to our hotel to relax.

The next day we slept in. It was great!

Then, we had Starbuck's for breakfast (of course!) and headed to the monorail to get into the city. We walked down to Pike Place Market and walked through the whole market-which is huge-there are 3 or 4 levels of it! There were so many cool things to purchase in there that I was glad we didn't have room to bring anything extra home in our bag. We got to watch the famous Pike Place Fish Market workers throw the fish around which was sweet.

We had lunch at Ivar's again. I just couldn't say no to my hubby, he loves it too much! This time it wasn't raining so we sat on the pier and fed the seagulls most of our fries. They are not afraid of humans, they got so close-I ended up hugging the wall while I was eating my food, but it was super fun to toss fries at them.

After lunch we went on an Argosy Harbor Tour. It was an hour long, 8.1 mile boat tour of Elliot bay, which leads out to the Puget Sound. We got some great pictures and footage of the city and the surrounding areas during the tour. The guide had lots of information to share and we learned a lot about Seattle as well. This was probably my favorite part of the trip.

After the tour we went to the Seattle Aquarium. They pride themselves on having NO trained animals in their facility. They have done research to support this choice and I completely back them in their efforts to save the oceanic animals from being abused. (Watch The Cove documentary on some information about trained animals) There were many super cool animals to look at and we spent a while in there. We also got to see two octopus being fed.

I had to make sure we went to the original Starbucks while we were there-so we found it and went inside. It was really cool to see the original store and see the old logo. We got drinks there and I also got a travel coffee mug.

We went to dinner at the Crab Pot that night with the Niz family from Starlet. It was a great time getting to know them and dinner was yummy!

Unfortunately we couldn't stay long, so the next morning we headed home. But, we did have an amazing time and it is a trip we will never forget. We will be headed back in spring of 2012, and if I have my way, we'll be going back before then as well. Phil filmed our trip on our new Flip video camera and once he is done editing, we will post it on here. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite pictures from throughout the trip! Enjoy!

Coming soon-Seattle trip details!

Come back tonight for details about our awesome trip!!

So excited!

I subbed today in my class for the afternoon. The kids definitely know it's about time for Christmas break-they were CRAZY!

After school I went shopping for our trip (sweatshirt, scarf, purse, TSA acceptable travel kits) and had fun spending money. =] I don't get to spend money on fun stuff very often, usually just groceries and gas so when I get to buy fun things I love it!

TOMORROW WE ARE GOING TO SEATTLE!!!! I am SO excited!



Be prepared for tons of pictures and video of our trip! =]

first workouts

I don't like the gym. It doesn't matter what gym, I will always find something about it that I don't like-not enough equipment, don't like the atmosphere, too far, too crowded...I live in an apartment so we have a gym that is available to us for free. It does not have much, literally the worst gym I have ever seen-and I've been to a few apartment gyms and hotel gyms...Needless to say, I hate working out in our gym.

I love dancing and doing old cheer dances and sidelines. I want to take a dance class, but again the money issue. So i figured I would try to remember some old dances and do an aerobics workout at home in my living room.

WOW-I forgot that you use EVERY muscle to dance..my whole body aches. I did this workout 2 days in a row so far varying between 40-50 minutes, finishing my workout with a cool down bike ride at the gym.

I'm going to try to stick with this plan for awhile until my body gets back into the routine of being used, then I'm thinking about getting that P90X workout DVD. Hopefully I can stick with my plan-I won't have school for 3 weeks so I will have plenty of time!!

Time for ME!

Sometimes I feel like I'm two different people; there's the girl I used to be in Las Vegas-young and naive, but happy in the way I felt and looked (in shape, tan, cute, [not conceited, I swear] treated myself to pedicures every month, etc. There's also the person I am today-older (but still young), smarter, extremely happy with my life and my marriage, but I have no confidence in how I look which makes me feel gross. Since moving here (and meeting Phil) I have let myself go-big time. I don't work out usually, I can't tan because it's too expensive, I can't afford regular pedicures or getting my hair done...I could go on, but I don't want to sound like a complainer.

I know that once I am done student teaching and I have a job (whether it's teaching or something else) I'll be able to afford some of the things that help me feel good about myself. But that won't be for another 6 months or so; so in the meantime the thing that I can do that doesn't cost extra money is working out regularly and making better choices with my food and portions.

I would like to try to keep my blog updated with my progress to keep me accountable and would love any suggestions from you! I'm trying to learn to cook and would love any healthy recipes you may have (they don't have to be healthy, but that helps!)

Here are some pictures from when I liked how I looked and felt good about myself



Here are some pictures from the past 2 years (after putting weight on)









So there ya go. I have finally published the fact that I have gained weight and let go of myself. Pretty embarrassing, but I'm hoping it will help me to take care of it and get myself in control of my body.
Thanks for your support! I'm the type that needs motivation and encouragement so please help me with that!

Things to share!

Phil is at work until 1:00 am and I'm extremely bored. So, I thought I would write about some exciting things coming up for us!

-We are going to Seattle for a couple of days this week. Phil LOVES Seattle and I've never been so we're really looking forward to it! While we are there we are going to the Pacific Science Center (I know, sounds so nerdy) to see the Harry Potter exhibition and HP7 in IMAX! (Love me some Harry Potter). I've contacted a luxury apartment agent and fibbed. I told her we were looking at moving and were interested in their building so we could see their models. We both think living downtown in an apartment/condo would be so cool-so we want to see what it is really like! We won't have time to go to the Space Needle or Pike's Place this time, but we already have plans to go back to visit in about a year! =]

-My sister, Amy and her family, might be taking a week long vacation to go snowboarding and she might take me along to babysit her handsome little boy! <3

-Phil's band is taking off with more gigs than they were expecting. They are planning to record a demo in January, more info to come!

-For spring break we are going back to our honeymoon spot-Orlando! This time we are going with Phil's family. We'll be there for a week and will be going to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure-and we will probably spend a whole day in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! =] We are hoping to go to Epcot and Disney's Animal Kingdom as well.

-Graduation!!! May 14, 2011-you are all invited! =]

Some of my favorite wedding pictures!

daddy/daughter dance to When a Man Loves a Woman...our song since I was 3 or 4!
cutie flower girl Paige. She danced all day long!




started to get nervous right before the ceremony

Starting up again

Well, I didn't use my blog as much as I wanted to in the past but I figured I could try it out again.

We've been married a little over a year and so much has happened already! We moved out of our first apartment [1 bed 1 bath] and were hoping to find a house. We did find some houses we liked, but after some prayer and discussion we decided that a house was not for us-for now. The day that we decided to stop looking for houses, I (emily) found our new apartment. This apartment is definitely an upgrade from our last one. It's 2 bed 2 bath, beige walls, wood laminate floors in the kitchen and bathrooms, huge kitchen, gorgeous dark cabinets, black appliances-it's gorgeous! We immediately fell in love with the place. Unfortunately, the apartment we wanted on the 1st floor wasn't available for a month, so we had to live with my parents for a month. Thankfully, the month went by quickly, and once we had our own place we became so much closer.

I'm student teaching this year in 4th and 2nd grade. I can't believe the first semester is already over and I only have 1 semester left until graduation. I am SO excited to be done with school-just hoping and praying that a job will be available to me. Over Thanksgiving break Phil and I decided on a back up plan in case I don't get hired as a teacher right away. I have always wanted to go to cosmetology school, and now would be a great time to go. Our 5 yr plan is that when we have kids I will stay home and Phil will work. I would like to do hair (or nails or esthetics) on the side part time for some extra spending money. So-again, sooner than later will be a good time for cosmetology school. But, we will see what happens!

Phil started a band this past September called Floors and Stories. You can check them out on facebook and twitter. They are currently doing worship covers, but are hoping to start writing original songs in the spring. If you have a gig that you would like them to play at, please get a hold of Phil!

I think this is enough for my first post...more to come!!