emily means industrious

Pair Programming Rocks

2012-01-30T16:30:00.002-06:00

One of the best parts of working on a team is pair programming. Whenever one person is programming on screen, productivity doubles when another person is watching and you talk through the problems as one person codes. The other is bound to notice syntax errors, and the algorithms developed are always way better when you think through it together. Today I've really enjoyed pair programming with Jim and we've both taught each other a few pretty cool new things. I was super frustrated earlier, but now that there's two heads on the problem we're gonna get through it. Yay productivity!

*emJ

Just Walk Away

2012-01-30T15:06:00.001-06:00

This is the first in what will probably be 2-3 more posts about programming. This is mostly because programming is pretty much comprised of 3 different emotions that just cycle repeatedly. First you are excited to tackle a new problem and get going, next you want to tear your hair out with frustration because something is broken and who knows why, finally you're ECSTATIC because whatever it was finally started working and it's the best moment of your life.

Right now I'm on step 2. I'm seriously about to flip out and throw this computer on the floor. I have no idea why the hell this code is broken because it all looks completely right. I'm so freaking frustrated and have been staring at it for what feels like hours. It's time to just walk away. Time to get away from this desk, away from just sitting in front of this computer.. time for a diet coke break and a walk around the office.

We all just need to calm down. Just walk away.

bbl
*Em

USB WIN

2012-01-28T15:10:00.004-06:00

I work in Detroit. Most days, the walk from my car to the office in the morning chills me to such a level that I don't thaw out for 2 hours. Thanks to a friend co-worker I realized that I most definitely need this USB heated mouse. They sell a USB heated keyboard too... best find ever.

Just check out this beauty!

Clean Inbox: Ready to take on the world

2012-01-28T15:05:00.000-06:00

Best feeling in the world is having a clean email inbox. Ever since I started using my inbox as a to-do list I've been able to accurately manage what I need to respond to and what tasks I need to do. I feel so organized and happy when I know everything that is on my list. Over Christmas and New Years I started slacking and let email pile up a bit, but I'm finally back on track. Feeling like a million bucks. :)

Hey world, I'm ready for anything. Bring it on.

Love,
Emily

Shoes: Found!

2012-01-26T11:01:00.000-06:00

Good news! I finally found a company that sells dance sneakers in my size!! I ordered them online and they should be arriving at my house today! I am SUPER jazzed about trying them out!

Not sure if you remember my plight regarding aerobic shoes, but it's been the biggest headache ever trying to get the right shoe to dance in. I've been in my Capezios this week, and they have been fine on carpet at the hotel, but at the Jazzercise studio in Royal Oak they have a gym-like floor which is super slippery. It's been frustrating not to be able to dance full out because I'm stabilizing myself the whole time because I feel like I'm not getting a full workout.

Anyway, here's to some serious optimism about these new dance sneakers! I can't wait to try them out tomorrow at Happy Hour Jazzercise with Sarah!

aren't they cute?

Water + Raspberries

2012-01-26T10:52:00.001-06:00

In an effort to try and be healthier, I decided [again] that I need to start drinking more water. Too much diet coke and too little water does not improve Emily performance. To incentivize myself (because everyone obviously always needs an incentive) I bought a new water bottle! Nothing super special, just something new and cool to help me get motivated. So far it's worked pretty well, all this week I have filled my water bottle 3 times, and there's a nifty little tracker thing on it... so I get a kick out of moving the little notch up every time I refill:)

I've also started throwing a few berries in the bottom of the water bottle to add a little bit of flavor since Detroit water kinda sucks. I love having a few raspberries or blueberries floating around hehe-- not only for taste but because it's entertaining to watch. I'm such a dork.

Hopefully I'll keep going on the more water track since it is obviously the best thing for you. C'mon health kick!

iOS5

2012-01-25T14:03:00.002-06:00

Finally got around to upgrading my iPhone to iOS5 this past weekend. I was originally nervous to do it since IBM security can at times pitch a fit about stuff like that, but I got an email saying that it was fine as long as you turned off a few settings. This is an epic win since now I can turn my phone into a personal wifi hotspot. Internet EVERYWHERE for laptop, iPad, whatever! I can't even begin to explain how useful this has been already... I can access regular (not censored) internet at the client site, get on VPN at client site, work on computer from the airport, blog from anywhere, etc.

So happy!
*emJ

Three S's

2012-01-25T13:45:00.003-06:00

I think one of my favorite parts of the Paleo Diet is that it's not just about food. I've never met (via reading their blog or book) people who are so passionate about the human as a whole being - not just a consumer/user of food. Mark Sisson wrote a seriously incredible blog entry that I recently read about the Three S's that you "must get right" in order to be healthier. They include:

Sleep
Stress
Sunlight

I always knew all these were important, but never had all the science behind why, or the simple and straightforward explanations Mark provides. He not only explains why too little or too much of each of these can be a problem, but provides thoughtful solutions that are typically pretty easy to implement. I'd highly recommend reading the article - you can find it here.

Weekend Recap

2012-01-25T12:18:00.000-06:00

I started this post on Monday...but it's been so crazy around here I didn't even get to post until today! That must say something because it's already halfway through the week and I'm posting LAST weekend's recap. snap. Well, I'll tell you all about this week and what's going on next time, but I've gotta get this recap out first :)

Friday

After a nerve-racking flight cancellation I miraculously made it on to a connecting flight (through ATL) back to Austin by 8pm on Friday. Serious miracle there since I had to run to get on both flights, but I made it home AND got to keep my dinner plans with Erin! She introduced me to Cabo Bob's, and my life was seriously changed. So long Chipotle, I found a new, local, and much better for my burrito bowl fixes... if only it weren't so far away :(

After a seriously fabulous girl date (I seriously hope Erin and I become the best of friends), I headed back north to figure out plans for the evening and pick up my car. I took a cab and met my new favorite cab driver who will be taking me to and from the airport from now on. He's so smart and worldly (and speaks English) and we had some awesome conversation about his previous career in investment banking until he took a year off to travel the world. Seriously cool. Good find!

As are most nights in Austin...things are just always the most lovely. After getting north I got to catch up with Mark about all the events of the week and debrief and just chill. It's always the best time of the week getting to catch up and just pause and enjoy friends and home. I even talked him into going dancing, so then we carpooled down to Dallas (the nightclub, not the city) and danced with Chase and Gabi. Had an incredible time, tried out some new moves, and finished the evening with the Mark and Emily ritual McD trip. *big cheesy smile*

Saturday
Saturday morning I woke up to a shocking phone call. Brooke called at 8:20 reminding me that I was on the Jazzercise schedule to teach... at 8:20. Since I was still in bed I JUMPED up, THREW clothes on, and FLEW to the center to teach. I made a few jokes about the Special Edition 8:30am Jazzercise, and everyone was very kind about my mistake. I'm glad I made this mistake once and pretty early in my career... now it won't need to happen again. Ever.

After Jazz I met up with Mark, Chase, Gabi and Alan to do some paintballing! We had bought an Amazon Local deal and it was one of the last days to use it. Paintball is fun (though painful) but I'm much better at hiding than actually shooting or aiming... hehe. I think I enjoyed who I was with much more than the actual activity, but we got some good photos out of it. And battle scars lol :) After paintball we went out to lunch at Mangia and I totally cheated my Paleo efforts for some incredible Chicago-style pizza. Heavenly.

emily action shot. hahaha

Group Shot :)

Since we didn't finish lunch until late afternoon, I headed straight over to Nick's to hang out for a while since we were planning a pretty early dinner. It was super fun to just chill out and be real people... I love seeing people in their natural element just living their real lives. Doing cool events or activities is cool, but there's just something so real about hanging out and just being a real person. We sat and chatted as he fixed his bike, then I "helped" him change the battery on his motorcycle and some other misc tasks. The best part came next when we got to take the bike out for a ride and experience the beauty of Austin at sunset. I don't think I can adequately explain how much fun it is to just ride, enjoy the scenery and the company... I am the most thankful for all three.

Day over? No way! Then I headed out to Midnight Rodeo for some dancing, obviously :)

Sunday
Sunday is the only day where there's some predictable pattern to the day's activities. I always have lunch with Mark at Rudy's... (shout out thanks to him for helping satisfy my addiction), and I teach my Jazzercise class at 4:30 (so much fun!). Honestly, those are two of my absolute favorite parts of my week.

Also on Sunday I went to Mass at 8pm at the UCC on UT campus, then was able to hang out with Nick for a bit afterward. I love that we can go to Mass together since he really inspires me and because, let's face it, going alone is sometimes sad. After Mass he tried to fix a jacket I'd broken (so kind!) and I read to him aloud since I'd been bugging him to read the 5 Love Languages. Peaceful Sunday nights are so good, especially before travel and craziness which you can always count on on Monday.

Whew! What a whirlwind!
More soon!
*Emily

Less is More

2012-01-20T09:01:00.003-06:00

Lately I've really enjoyed reading Mark's Daily Apple. He's a Paleo enthusiast, and I really like reading what he has to say since it's always straightforward and makes a lot of sense. I've recently learned a lot about listening to my body about what it likes to eat and how to optimize performance, etc.

I learned an important lesson this week - don't work out if you are sick. It's both detrimental to your condition and you're not going to get any typical workout benefits from it either. I worked out when sick on Wednesday and I could absolutely that it did not help things. I was much more sluggish and didn't really feel better as I was leaving (usually you can count on feeling better when you walk out than when walking in).

Rather than pushing myself when my body obviously needs rest and recovery, I took yesterday off and spent the entire evening in bed watching tv and went to bed super early. Already feeling better. Now I just have to keep this sleep thing going over the weekend so I don't relapse.

Interested in what Mr. Paleo does for his workouts? Check it out here. :)

Be healthy!
-Emily

New Year, New Shoes (please?)

2012-01-20T08:37:00.000-06:00

Athletic shoes are expensive. That's probably part of the reason that I'm really bad about retiring old shoes. However, another BIG reason that I'm bad about retiring shoes is because finding aerobic or studio shoes that fit me is impossible. I finally decided to care more about foot health, protect my knees, etc etc and buy new shoes. I had my heart set on these super cute ryka shoes which are totally built for Jazzercise. I was even ready to suck it up and pay the premium for them... until I found out that they don't make my size. In fact, every single company that I found who made aerobic shoes started their sizing at 6 so I'm outta luck. SO LAME! :'(

Ryka Flex Studio Shoes

Since I couldn't buy the ryka shoes, I looked at Zappos and found the Nike cross trainers pictured below. I'm interested to try them out, but I'm not overly optimistic since aerobic shoes and cross trainers are completely different built shoes. For running or cross training your foot lands heel-ball-toe, and you roll your feet forward to move forward... aerobic or studio shoes are build for moving side to side (not just forward) and for landing toe-ball-heel. Completely different movements than running...so we'll have to see how they do.

Nike Cross trainer

The other option is to continue wearing my Capezio Dansneakers since those are both built for dance and come in appropriate sizes. The only problem here is that when I dance in these shoes I have a tendency to only dance on my toes and not fully land all the way to the heel of my foot. I'll have to focus extra hard to have good form...

Capezio Dance Sneaker

Really, I'm just heartbroken about those ryka shoes. Maybe I'll just buy crazy thick socks and try to pull off a 6....

best,
Em

The Most Crucial 5 Minutes

2012-01-20T07:41:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it sucks having a workout that is scheduled outside your control. aka. Jazzercise starts at a specific time, whether or not I'm there (unless I'm teaching, obviously :) ) Additionally, being late is not an option. If you're just 3 minutes late, you miss the warm up... and if you're more than 5 minutes late it'll seriously cut into your cardio. Jazzercise workouts aim to work you up and then down a gradual curve of perceived exertion [photo below], and jumping in halfway really won't give you as beneficial or effective of a workout.

Aerobic Perceived Exertion Chart

All that being said, whether or not I'm going to make it to my workout really comes down to a very crucial 5 minutes. I know I need to leave at time X in order to make it to Jazzercise just in time (changing in the car, mind you...), but it seems like there is always some conversation that starts ten minutes before that, and I am unable to get out by X...meaning that I either have to wait an hour and a half for the next class if there is one, or not get to workout at all.

Those 5 minutes are so frustrating because they don't matter to anyone else except me. If we wrap up at 5:25 or 5:30 it seems the same, so there's no rush or sense of "let's only keep talking if it's an important conversation"...but those 5 minutes mean everything to me since 5:25 means I make it to class and 5:30 means I have to stay at work an extra hour to wait it out for the 7pm class, and not get back to hotel until 8:45 still needing dinner.

Sorry to rant, just wanted to share frustration.

It's Friday, I'm done being cranky. Promise.

*emJ

Lost Art

2012-01-18T10:40:00.000-06:00

why don't people leave voicemail anymore?

My iPhone reminded me today that I'm at 94% of my voicemail space and that I need to delete some of my saved voicemails. Sad Day. I absolutely love all my voicemail! I love getting them and listening to my favorites talk to me. Plus, voicemail is great since you can listen to it over and over!

Voicemail is one of the absolute best parts of cell phones because you get the chance to leave a message with a personal touch for that person. Also, who doesn't prefer talking to texting or typing anyway? Talking accomplishes the most words per minute and allows for much less miscommunication since you can actually hear tone of voice and inflection. It's such a shame that so many people never leave voicemails these days, or just call and then text if no one answers. What a lost art :(

Ciao
~Emily

Starting the BPM Journey

2012-01-18T10:13:00.000-06:00

As you may know, I submitted an abstract for the IBM Impact conference in Vegas in April. My client is planning to come and talk with me about The First BPM Project. We want to focus on how the first project is different, and why it needs to be treated differently than any other BPM project. I'm really excited about the material, and really hope we are chosen for the conference.

That being said, I submitted another Blueworks Live blog last night about how to choose which project should be your first. It's the first post of a few which I hope will start to cover the material for Impact.

Heavenly

2012-01-18T09:39:00.002-06:00

This week I'm staying at the Westin. I didn't know this before today, but their line of ammenities is called "Heavenly"... and let me tell you this, it's no lie. Pictured below is the Heavenly shower which proved itself last night by having perfect water pressure (which matters when washing super thick hair), quick heat up (can I burn myself in less than 5 seconds?), and also has two shower heads! They also keep all the shampoo and conditioner in the shower rather than on the sink where you obviously forget it and then have to get out of the shower to grab it.

Other reasons why I'm never leaving this place are:

"Heavenly" bed - most comfortable hotel bed I've ever slept in. I seriously did NOT want to get out of it this morning.
Free Breakfast - anything you could ever want. At least 12 different kinds of fruit, breakfast meats galore and a guy who would make you an omlette to order if you so wished
Lobby Restaurant - ate here for dinner last night and it was phenonomenal. Had shrimp, avocado and sweet potato (pretty exciting Paleo meal) without even having to ask for special order stuff!

Overall, this place is just a win. I'm beginning to really fall for Starwood.

peace!

Emily

shout out!

2012-01-18T08:33:00.000-06:00

I used to think that no one really read this blog. I mean, I knew of two or three people who put up with my boring ranting and babble, but I kind of figured that was my entire audience. That could definitely still be true, but yesterday I found out that there are also at least a few silent readers who have been keeping up with this blog. I'm so happy and excited that there may be even more of you out there, and am thrilled that you are reading! Feel free to comment and shout back so I know who you are - or keep hiding and surprise me some other day. Either way, thanks for reading!

<3
Emily

Get Started with Coding

2012-01-18T08:21:00.000-06:00

Monday night was a good night. Went to Jazzercise, met up with Sara and Mark for some dinner @ Rudy's (my favorite, obviously), and then Mark and I hung out for a while and practiced our super awesome Javascript knowledge at Codecademy. I had never really looked at the site before, but it's honestly the best introduction to programming I've ever seen. Mark had been interested in learning some code and I'm always game to freshen up my skills, so we sat and worked on some stuff.

The lessons at the site are intuitive, straightforward and follow a natural progression of knowledge. I was amazed at the progress made in such a short time, and the depth of understanding we got to. It's incredible to see someone who has never even had an introduction to programming other than this saying "duh!" and fixing a mistake in his code after only an hour of exposure. I had such a great time going through everything and learning a few things I didn't even know. Can't wait to do it again soon :)

while(fun===true){
emily.practiceCoding();
if(markPresent===true & learning ===true){
fun=true;
}
else{
fun=false;
}
}

*emJ

Costa Rica

2012-01-18T08:04:00.003-06:00

My mom has been talking about a Costa Rica trip for a few months now... and until recently I was only on the fence about going. However, I never get to see my family enough, so vacationing with them seemed like a chance I shouldn't miss out on.. especially since I've done a bit of research about what Costa Rica really has to offer. We booked tickets over the weekend, so I'm actually going, and I'm totally jazzed! Can't even wait for volcano tours, wild jungle animals and zip lining! Oh yeah, maybe I'll spend a few minutes at the beach too...

Can't wait to head south after this loooong loooong winter!

*Emily

Why are all the lights off!?

2012-01-17T16:09:00.002-06:00

Why do some office buildings insist on having only half the lights on at all times? It's already dark and gloomy outside during the winter - why are we making it the same inside too? Is there really enough of an energy savings between people visiting the bathroom that you need to turn the lights off in there? What about the hallways where people walk up and down all day - is it really better to only have every fifth light bulb lit? C'mon folks, I'm going to need some freaking light in here.

what is going on?!

Please don't keep me in the dark,
*Em

breaking free!

2012-01-17T16:03:00.002-06:00

Just got some pretty exciting news... I'm getting out of Detroit. Soon.

We're over hours on the project, and it makes the most sense for me to roll off early and for the Level 3 Developer from Apex to stay on. This is pretty much a win-win-win since I'll get to try something new, the Apex guy can try and sell some more services to stay longer, and the client will get to continue the relationship with Apex (which I'm sure will be a long and fruitful one for both parties), etc. WIN.WIN.WIN.

Maybe they'll send me to Costa Rica... there's a Western Union project there. /jealous

*emJ

Note: Of course this news comes right after I change up hotels and make a commitment to bettering my life up here. Oh well, I'll still make those changes and see how it goes for 3 weeks, then take on whatever my new adventure is. (to Self: I can do this.)

Best Idea Ever

2012-01-17T15:34:00.000-06:00

Confession: Sometimes I am obsessed with weddings.

Maybe it's because I've been to so many of my friend's weddings in the past year or so, but sometimes I can't help but think about weddings. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to dwell on witnessing a real, true Happily Ever After?! It's just the most beautiful thing.

I love looking at wedding photography (current favorite) and seeing creative ideas people have for their special day. Actually, the reason for this post is to help me remember something really cool I saw the other day. Wedding favors are always a tricky thing because you don't want something lame that no one will ever use or something cheesy... I've seen it all from coozies to M&Ms with your initials to playing cards, but the truth is that none of those really jumped out at me as really good favors. That is, until I saw this incredible idea---

Mix CDs.

Not only is this personal, and something that the couple can completely customize, but there is infinite design opportunity to make cute CD sleeves that maybe have your new initials, or a photo or even just your wedding colors on the sleeve.

I'm obsessed with this idea because it really lets the couple send a message that represents them to their guests and put a really personal touch on favors, which are usually kind of lame. How fun would it be to pick out your favorite songs as a couple and then some that are your favorite and your fiancee just listens to because he loves you lol? Commenting stuff like "Played on our First Date" or "Emily Sings This At Least 10x a Day", etc to give to friends and family seems like it'd be both fun and comical to put together, and it would also add a genuine and personal way to include everyone in your love story.

Just some thoughts :) I'm gonna have to remember this one!

Love,
Emily

sniffles

2012-01-17T12:33:00.000-06:00

ew. today I feel like the drizzly, gloomy weather here in Detroit. i NEED to start sleeping more because running around all weekend + eating not as well as during the week + not sleeping = no wonder I'm getting sick.

it's so laaaaammmme to have a cold! i hate it. forewarning for you all- i'm going to be whiny all week.

finally home

2012-01-13T01:37:00.000-06:00

cowboy boots, frog blanket and my own bed. sigh, it's good to be home.

i'm spending one whole day this weekend in bed...the week has been too tough and my head too full and my heart too confused. anyone's welcome to join a movie-and-eating-all-day day, just text me :)

...oh yeah, and bring some fruit

*emJ

Changing it up

2012-01-12T15:18:00.003-06:00

Previous to this week, I've spent every week at Detroit staying in the same hotel (Hyatt Regency). Obviously this is a strategy to make that place feel more like home and be recognizable so that I know people there and feel like I belong. I've made a lot of friends there, and I really love the hotel. I receive upgrades a lot since I'm a Diamond guest, and I get to valet my car every night since the rate is so competitive....but the drawback is the 45 minute commute to the office in the morning. That seriously sucks.

Hyatt Regency Dearborn

This week is the Auto Show in Detroit and the Regency was totally booked, so I had to branch out and try something new. Best I found for this week was the Holiday Inn in Warren. The hotel was pretty old (maybe 80s?) but I did get a Jacuzzi in my room, as well as free breakfast and free dinner if I so chose. The staff was nice, but the property definitely still felt like a budget hotel, so I won't be returning.

I'm pretty spoiled in that I typically will only stay at full service hotels - this is mostly because the IBM rates are usually really good and because budget hotels are depressing. It's a quality of life issue since I spend almost half my week in a hotel.

Jacuzzi Room - Holiday Inn, Warren, MI

That being said, next week I've decided to switch it up and try the Westin. SPG is the loyalty program for Starwood properties, and they have most definitely convinced me to switch for the remainder of the project. A few things which helped the decision:

Platinum Challenge (if you stay 18 nights in the next 3 months you get instant Platinum [highest] status) - this should only take 6 weeks for me, and Platinum guests get instant upgrades, a check-in gift every time and some other fancy stuffs
New Years Point Special (triple points on 3 night stays through April) - hell yes! This will get me enough hotel points with them to stay in Costa Rica for free :D
Southfield Area is a much better area than Dearborn with many more restaurants, and a much easier commute to both Jazzercise and the office.

I'll keep you posted on how I like it, but I'm pretty excited since the murmurings about Westin and Starwood in general are all very good.

Happy Thursday!

*Em

Craving

2012-01-12T13:56:00.001-06:00

Goal for this weekend? Find and consume some sweet potato fries. #ineedthese

most important meal of the day

2012-01-12T09:55:00.001-06:00

i freaking love breakfast. it's my absolute favorite meal of the day, and sometimes I even eat it for dinner too.

I'm not talking about all those breakfast foods that are actually dessert (like muffins or donuts or that crap), I mean good ole' eggs and sausage, bacon and fruit. I could (and typically do), eat that stuff for breakfast every day. All those things are even Paleo!

absolute.favorite.food.

anyone else hungry?
*emJ

End of Term

2012-01-12T09:40:00.003-06:00

Today officially ends my term as the VP of Membership for my sorority's alumnae group. I would say bittersweet, but I'm definitely still going to be active - just didn't want to go through elections and keep up with the work. I always feel guilty if I can't devote adequate time to an office, and this past year I feel like I didn't quite to justice to my role. The difference between following the letter of the law (or responsibilities) and the spirit of them, I guess. Anyway, I hope that I'll get to go alumnae weekend this year, and keep involved to motivate and bond with all my sisters :)

here's to friendship, leadership, and professionalism!

Sisterly Love,
Emily

AOE Big/Lil Reveal 2009

Sweet Sweet Treat!

2012-01-11T12:03:00.003-06:00

I just ordered some super exciting treats that hopefully will arrive when I get home this weekend! I ADORE these little cookies! They're all natural and really really good. Can't wait for them to arrive- I'm hungry already!

LDAP

2012-01-11T11:18:00.000-06:00

Did you know that LDAP stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol? Found that out today after I started a fight with LDAP this morning. LDAP is also sometimes called Active Directory or Enterprise Directory, etc. It's where all the user attributes live for login information for a system. Ish. Anyway, LDAP integration is my task for today... so here I am. No one knows why it's being so difficult, but I'm gonna fight with this thing until it lets me in and able to search user attributes.

Game On, LDAP. Bring it.

*Smiles*
Emily

Tough

2012-01-11T08:26:00.003-06:00

Sometimes life is hard.

I have to try and remember this...

Local Chains

2012-01-10T13:10:00.001-06:00

I love going to local food places. Haven't found that many in Detroit yet, but after today I think maybe that's my fault for lack of trying. Went out to lunch at Kruse and Muer, a local seafood chain, and really enjoyed myself. The place has a great story and Jim (coworker) knew a lot of the history. I really liked reading about it on the website as well. Yay for good stories and good food :)

Happy midday!
-Emily

Some Thoughts on Travel

2012-01-10T08:28:00.001-06:00

I travel a lot. On a typical week, I'll fly to work on Monday, stay in a hotel 3 nights, then fly home on Thursday. As you can imagine, this leads to a lot of frequent flyer miles... and also some wisdom on efficient travel. Not sure how helpful this may be for you, but here's a few things (I won't give some exhaustive list since that'd be super boring) that I've learned to make life on the road easier.

1. Keep two sets of toiletries.

Don't mess with packing it all up every week - it sucks. Get all your favorite stuff in travel size (or get travel bottles...see next list item) and keep it packed. Then you just have to throw it in your suitcase and not worry about forgetting shampoo.

2. Be picky about what kind of travel bottles you use.

Seriously. It matters. (Just pray you don't find out the hard way once some crappily designed bottle spills lotion all over your work clothes and toothbrush.) The right answer for travel bottles are these, but I'll probably write an entire post about this one day so stay tuned.

3. Make a friend every day.

No matter who you meet on the road, it's always an opportunity to make a friend. Whether it's the guy helping you get your boarding pass at Delta or the Starbucks woman, this is an opportunity. A smile will go a long, long way, and you'll feel more at home when you interact with people who know you. Make it a point to return to familiar places and make friends.

4. Write Thank Yous!

Every good deed deserves a thank you. Didn't your mama teach you about thank yous? If someone upgrades your hotel room so you get one with a jacuzzi, or always makes sure you get exactly the rental car you want - THANK THEM! It's well worth your while - not only are you going the extra mile to be kind and appreciative, but chances are that they'll reciprocate the kind treatment.

5. Take the bait for an upcharge

Restaurants love to charge an extra dollar or so if you want extra meat or guacamole or whatever. It's usually ~$2. Get over it and say yes. That isn't going to break your bank, and typically those modifications make the meal taste better and be healthier. Win-win.

6. Live your passion - no excuses

No matter how tired you are at the end of day, do something for you. Make your surroundings familiar in some small way. Hotel rooms are depressing and there's no reason to be depressed when you can explore a new city. Make sure you balance your social vs alone time- both are important. Here are some things I always check out on the road:

Social Time:

Jazzercise (workouts make you feel good and give you a tangible reason to be out of the office at a reasonable time when appropriate)
Catholic Young Adult Groups or just local church
Weight Watchers Meetings (now that I'm a Lifetime member I can go to meetings for free and I love this positive spin on my week! always positive, encouraging and a great sense of camaraderie)
10 Best Restaurants (find some good food, sit at the bar, get to know the place, and get some recommendations for other good food)
Dance Classes (see what the options are and if they take walk-ins)

Alone Time:

Nail Salon (new manicure is a great way to spend some time just getting pampered and probably cheap enough to be covered by per diam :)
Target/Walmart (some days you just need to shop. give yourself a budget [read: leftover per diam] and spend some time walking around and finding the coolest thing you can get under that budget
Something scenic (google something pretty to go look at, get your dinner to go and then check it out. blog or something :)

new hotel, new life

2012-01-10T08:28:00.000-06:00

This week is the Auto Show in Detroit. The hotel I've been staying at was sold out for the show, so I had to branch out and try something new, which actually has been a big blessing in disguise. I'm staying closer to a really cool area called Royal Oak with lots of restaurants and activity in the evenings. It's also closer to Jazzercise and the office! More people+cooler area+shorter commute to everything = WIN!

Last night I tried out Lily's Seafood. It was pretty good, and had the BCS game on so I could cheer against LSU (not that they needed any help loosing...). I ordered Seared Ahi Tuna (pictured below), BBQ Shrimp and Chicken Skewers, and Sweet Potato Fries. How lovely to just sit and munch to my hearts content while chatting at the bar and enjoying some great after-workout chill time.

I have a feeling that this change of scene is going to really improve my outlook of life in Detroit. Plan for tonight? I'm checking out Cafe Muse! Stay tuned for more foodie reviews :)

cheers,
emJ

Christmas

2012-01-10T08:14:00.000-06:00

I had such an incredible Christmas. I'm the most thankful girl for all the incredible gifts everyone gave me - you all know me too well :) I feel so loved!

Let the music move you

2012-01-10T07:57:00.000-06:00

Don't you just love how music can just move you? I mean, both physically and emotionally, somehow it has a way to just overwhelm every fiber of your being and express what you could not on your own. Right now I'm being moved by David Nail's very poignant lyrics. I love the happy songs, don't get me wrong...but sometimes a quiet rainy morning just makes you want to hear songs about rain.

It's hard to find the perfect time to say something

You know is gonna change everything

Livin' with the shame; it nothin' like the pain

That I saw on her face

- "Let It Rain" by David Nail

Guilty Pleasure

2012-01-10T07:38:00.000-06:00

I have a confession. I'm obsessed with ecards. Seriously, I usually send at least 5 a week. Multiple to a single person if it's their birthday. It's just a guilty pleasure.

haha, I feel ridiculous because I think I'm the only person I know who actually pays to send ecards and have access to them all on American Greetings. But, I just get so much joy out of sending them and watching them.

My absolute favorite are all the birthday ecards. I'll watch my favorites over and over (even if I'm not sending them) and laugh out loud. I absolutely love the sentiment of them and imagine someone at the other end laughing too (either at the card or me for sending it...either way)

I won't post any favorites in case your birthday is coming up, but I would love to send you an ecard. If you're reading this and would enjoy a random ecard this week, shoot me an email. I can't wait to surprise you with one!

Thanks for feeding the addiction,
*em

The 5 W's

2012-01-06T07:51:00.000-06:00

Typically I don't share too much work stuff here, but I just published another IBM public blog entry, so I thought I'd share. Feel free to check it out!

Why New Years is Depressing

2012-01-04T13:33:00.001-06:00

Truth be told, I'm somewhat of a goal setter. I like to set goals (both short and long term) for myself and push myself to accomplish all that I possibly can. I think that's what makes New Years so difficult for me. Because, no matter how many things I DO accomplish during the year, there's always one goal from the previous year that doesn't get met. And that freaking kills me.

This year I taught bootcamp, bought a Jazzercise franchise, fell even more in love with Austin and had the time of my life dancing so many nights away. I built new friendships and grew closer to both Christ and my family. It really does sound like a lot got done....

But all I can seem to do is focus on what didn't get done. Like my certification for level 2 consultant, and being proactive on the blueworks live blog, and being even better in my prayer life, and discerning what God's will is for my future, etc etc.

I guess there's always next year...but I HATE not meeting my goals and disappointing myself. :(

Sun vs. Cold

2012-01-04T13:19:00.000-06:00

Sometimes Detroit baffles me. I mean, it's usually very dark here. Dark + Cold is not a very good combination for good spirits...but then sometimes the sun comes out and it's absolutely beautiful! I get so excited and appreciative of the sun making an appearance that sometimes I forget and just run outside to enjoy and bask in the light...until I realize that it's still 30 degrees.

How can you reconcile both needing to be in the sun with needing to not freeze to death?!

yours,
emjay

A Dream Come True

2011-12-20T22:39:00.001-06:00

One of the best weekends yet in Austin.

Saw Beauty and the Beast live on stage, and even wore my princess dress. :) Went out to dinner with Fahad, Morgan, Veronica, Matt and Kyle first, then we headed to the show. It was so much fun to hang out with them all and get all dolled up for the occassion!

I may have been overdressed, but whatever - I was totally rocking that dress. It's BATB after all, you have to go all out. After the show Mark and I went to Midnight Rodeo and danced the night away.

Yes, I danced at a country dancehall in a formal floor length gown.... and, yes, it was awesome.

I don't know that I've ever felt more like a princess than waltzing around the floor in that dress. And so many people came up and commented on how gorgeous a dress it was... oh goodness. What a dream come true. :D

Life Philosophies

2011-12-14T08:14:00.000-06:00

Here are some pearls of wisdom for you. These are some life philosophies I've learned over my 24 years of living.

Philosophies to Live By:

Everyone just wants to make others happy (specifically, they want to make you happy)
People like to be told what to do (like how they can make you happy)
I'm just a little girl (may not apply to all)

Yup, that about sums it up. If you don't believe me, or need an example, I'd be happy to help.

(See what I did there?)

*emJ

Heading Back Home

2011-12-14T08:01:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the short break in blogging! I have missed you guys! I'm currently working my last day of 2011, and have SO much to write and update you about! I can't wait to have some vacation time and actually get to hang out in Austin for a few days! After that I'll be in Atlanta with family for a bit.

Don't worry, I won't leave you all again - I'm just still catching up. This is the storm before the calm. :D

Love!

*em

Let's Rediscover...

2011-12-13T12:40:00.000-06:00

...why we're best friends

Holiday ads always make me cry. This year, there were 2 that really got me. The one above is Starbucks campaign, and then below is Delta.

Departing doesn't have to mean disconnecting

Both of these really just get at the beauty and sentiment of the season. Of course I just want to sit at Starbucks with a close friend and chat for hours with a hot peppermint mocha. And, thank you Delta, for reminding me that just because I'm leaving on a jet plane doesn't mean I'm disconnecting from those I love back where I belong.

Maybe I'm just a sap...but whatever. I blame my mom.

Not disconnected,

Emily

Let Them Know

2011-12-13T09:51:00.001-06:00

I absolutely love the Do They Know It's Christmas Time song. What a beautiful message to send... it's all about "feed the world" and then they ask 'don't they know it's Christmastime at all?'

Obviously Advent prepares us with joy, peace, love and hope so that the entire world should just know by our example that it's Christmas time :)

Dontcha think?

Tea Review

2011-12-12T14:28:00.000-06:00

I gave up all drinks except water and tea for Advent this year. It's been SO tough since I'm SUPER addicted to Diet Coke. (Seriously, it's embarrassing how addicted I am)

That being said, I thought once I started drinking tea I'd find more teas that I like, but I really am a plain jane who only likes super simple black tea.

So far Lipton is my favorite (I know that's blasphamy for hard core tea people). Next is Awake by Tazo. I absolutely HATED the Tazo Earl Grey, and Passion was ok, but if you leave the tea bag in too long it gets super tart.

Anyway, just some thoughts on my recent tea experience. Maybe I'll even indulge and have a cold sweet tea one of these days... that's some GOOD stuff. I found this incredible sweet tea syrup at the farmer's market by my house. It's called Moonshine Sweet Tea - yum yum!

*emJ

BEST WORKDAY EVER

2011-12-12T13:03:00.000-06:00

Actually got BPM connected to the database today! I love having a real place to put data rather than stubbing everything out!! It's such an exciting step to start getting real artifacts built and running through the process :)

On top of that, the SUN it out!!!! (And, let's face it... that doesn't happen very often in Detroit.) Yay for productivity and a hellova good mood!

Today is one of those days at work where you are so productive and happy doing what you do that you don't even want to stand up to go to to the bathroom.

Go get 'em!
Emily

Engineers and Christmas Trees

2011-12-12T12:11:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Bootcampers at IBM! One of the executives brought us a Christmas Tree for the office so we decorated it. Granted, Darth Vader as the angel at the top is somewhat humorous...but pretty much all the decorations are Star Wars characters, smurfs and Optimus Prime. Yup, we're all engineers.

My Little Secret

2011-12-12T10:22:00.003-06:00

Office attire here is the upper side of business casual. That being said, however, sometimes you really have to just make a statement and step out in some small way. Can't be 100% corporate all the time... obviously you gotta introduce some fun.

Guess what I'm wearing today?
Yup, you guessed it. Frog Toe Socks.

Hell yes.

Directions

2011-12-12T06:32:00.001-06:00

I'm not very good with directions. Never really have been.

Have you ever noticed, though, that over the holidays with family people LOVE to discuss directions? It's suddenly crazy interesting what the best way to get from point x to point y is and everyone has a different take on it. It's facinating.

I've never really been a big "explorer"... meaning that I don't ever really look for new routes to places I already know how to get to, and I really don't enjoy being lost. However, as I've started to get to know Austin and been able to recognize more and more places and where they are relative to other stuff... I've kinda jumped on the bandwagon.

Suddenly, I'm totally interested in the best way to get places and I like showing off knowing ways to find certain things around the city. Maybe that's lame, but it makes me feel like I belong in this town and gives me some feeling of ownership :)

So, anyway, that's the random thought of the day. Here's to welcoming the holidays welcoming any discussions which may arise about whether it's better to take 183 South to 35 or Mopac to 290.

Cheers!
*Emily

A Complete 180

2011-12-11T23:57:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I'm amazed at how quickly the weather can change. Not like the weather outside, but the metaphorical weather of our personal lives. Today started out as if it were the day after a horrible tsunami. Everything was broken, nothing worked right or felt right, but before I went to bed I felt like bright blue skies with a light breeze and the sun warming and brightening my entire view.

I guess it really started last night at the Bootcamp Christmas party bus event... and I drank WAY too much. I really only drink like that once a year, and it's always at that event. And then the next morning I wake up totally ashamed and feeling like crap. Not usually hungover, but just that horrible feeling inside your stomach like "woah, i embarrassed myself last night. i'm supposed to be setting an example. i suck."

On top of waking up with that feeling, I couldn't find my car key. Got home this morning around 4 this morning, carried in a bunch of my stuff to my apartment and somehow the car key was dropped or lost en route. I spent what felt like a long time searching out in the cold at 4am but could not find the freaking thing. So that's stressful. That also meant that I missed coffee date with Fahad and Jay (saddest thing ever) since I couldn't drive.

To add insult to injury, I had to call Mark to get my spare key so I could at least drive for the day. Headed over to my Jazzercise meeting even though I felt crappy and knew I was unprepared with my new set. Then I taught the absolute WORST Jazzericse class of my life. Actually, it was the worst class I'd ever been to. I was completely ashamed and left the place in tears feeling like a complete failure. Except, I didn't leave quite early enough because I didn't get to St. Thomas More for church until 10 minutes before it ended. And, let's face it, the last 10 minutes of Mass does not fulfill my moral obligation.

Wanting to just crawl in my bed and die, but knowing I'd just feel worse if I didn't go to church, I called a good friend and asked if he'd go to the 8pm Mass at UT with me. I really didn't want to drive all the way down there, then go to Mass alone (tears and all), etc.

Don't worry- this is where the story gets much better.

I showed up at said friend's place a little bit before Mass so we could carpool. We chatted for a few and he just listened to me cry and was so freaking supportive. He has a way of making me feel incredibly cared for and no matter how broken I felt, he made me feel valued. The Holy Spirit was definitely with him that night. I already felt somewhat lifted.

Then we headed to Mass. I was definitely glad that I was because sometimes making a sacrifice is the best gift you can give. Even though I didn't feel like it and I didn't have any eloquent prayer to offer, I was going to go and give my time to God. The only sad thing about attending Mass was that I knew I couldn't receive communion. You see, before Advent started I had skipped Mass twice in a row, and hadn't been able to go to Confession yet. Needing spiritual nourishment desperately, it was heartbreaking to go when I knew I wouldn't be in full communion with the congregation.

Mass was fine, I held it together and was able to let go for a bit. Then when it ended, my Mass Buddy asked if I wanted to go to confession. He was willing not only to follow up and remind me what I really needed, but he was willing to wait and encourage me as well. Words can honestly not express the virtue here. I'm in awe and wonder of this man's quiet love and soft spoken guidance. Maybe one day I'll be able to thank him appropriately...but probably not.

End of the story? I made it to confession and felt like a new person afterward. I had received such grace and love, and felt a thousand pounds lighter. Afterward, the priest even let me receive communion. The true joy from this entire story can't be expressed here - I wish I was that good with words, but I promise you that it was a true, deep and peaceful joy. Not just happiness which is an emotion that fades, but true joy in the love and presence of God in this world, and him displaying himself to me in such a beautiful way.

Ready for some even better news? After I got home, I found my car key just sitting in the middle of the floor in my room.

:)

May your ugly days turn beautiful right before your eyes.

Love,
Emily

It's Snuggie Time

2011-12-11T10:52:00.001-06:00

I'm an incredibly blessed person. And I have a lot of stuff that I really love. I hope this doesn't sound bad. I mean, I am obviously more thankful for the people in my life, and things that matter so much more...but this post is about stuff. Because, today I am the happiest and most thankful just sitting and laying around my apartment in my Snuggie. Seriously, if you don't have one- get one. I'm pretty sure it's my favorite thing. Well, either that or my nativity set, or my music collection, or my piano...or my Vinylmations... or my Cinderella Castle... etc. Oh crap, I just am so thankful for it all.

Let's have a Snuggie party! Come on over!

Oh Come! Let us adore him!

2011-12-10T16:51:00.001-06:00

I absolutely love Christmas songs. Seriously, I start listening to Christmas music sometime in October (yes, before Thanksgiving) and don't usually stop until mid January.

Favorites are obviously divided into two different genres - Classic and Modern. Top two all time favorites for each category?

* Oh Come All Ye Faithful (Classic)
* The First Noel (Classic)
* Grown up Christmas List (Modern)
* Breath of Heaven (Modern)

JUMP FOR JOY!

2011-12-08T15:23:00.001-06:00

After some SERIOUS difficulty this year - we actually landed 10 new bootcampers for next year!!! We filled up all of our slots!!! I can't even believe it. What an incredible start to this weekend. I'm freaking out.

What an incredible testament to dreams coming true and effort paying off.

Sometimes I wonder if there could ever be a happier girl.

In my own little corner

2011-12-08T14:53:00.001-06:00

Been so distracted all day at work. I'm SO HAPPY to be going home tonight! It's going to be SUCH an incredible weekend, and I can't even wait to get back :) Here's some of the stuff going on:

Thursday (Arrival @ 10pm)

DANCING @ Midnight Rodeo

Friday

Seeing all the bootampers at the office!!! It's been so long since I saw them and even JAY is in town from DC! SO exciting
Lunch with SARA!!! :D
Babysitting Bodhi!
Out on the town with Bootcampers and Jay :D

Saturday

The Bar Method with Sara and Veronica :)
ACC Charity Event!
Making Christmas Cards!!!!!
Lunch with Nick :)
Bowling with Bootcampers :D
Jazzercise Staff Party
Bootcamp Christmas!!! (includes dinner, white elephant gifts and PARTY BUS)

Sunday

PINK week of Advent!
Standing Rudy's date with Mark :D
Jazzercise Staff Meeting
Teach Jazzercise
Movie night or whatever at Alan's

Looks like I'm booked completely solid, but it's going to be incredible catching up with so many people and really being able to enjoy being home. :D

I've been daydreaming all day about how excited I am for this weekend and dancing tonight especially. It's been so long since I've been able to dance and I seriously can not WAIT to get on the dance floor. Especially since all the gang will be there, I just know it's going to be incredible night. I can't stop thinking about that perfect feeling when I start to dance with Mark after having been out of town for a while and it feeling just like a perfect fitting glove. Like in that moment I'm exactly where I belong and nothing else matters except moving seamlessly together. I'm not even upset about dancing in flats tonight because I'm so happy and excited (I forgot my cowboy boots this week, but I honestly don't even care)

Probably won't post much while I'm experiencing all this awesomeness, but know you are all always in my thoughts and prayers. Go have a kick butt weekend too!!

*Em

Countdown

2011-12-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

I look at this at least 5 times a day. I hope you are all getting as excited as I am! CHRISTMAS is coming!!! I hope you've all been good! :)

Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men!

Christmas Cards

2011-12-07T23:52:00.001-06:00

I love Christmas Cards. I love the idea of catching up with your loved ones and spreading Christmas cheer. This year is the first year that I pulled together a list of addresses and made a first attempt at sending out Christmas cards to my family and friends. I used Etsy as inspiration and made handmade cards with a QR code on the front for a techie secret :) My cards didn't turn out as cute as those pictured here, but they were personal and heartfelt. Can't wait for a new creative idea next year!

Peace, Hope & Joy!

Emily

Grown Up Christmas List

2011-12-07T15:50:00.001-06:00

Every year my family asks what I want for Christmas, so I try to put together some kind of wish list to give them some ideas. I'll go ahead and post since I think it's fun :)

To put together my list I use kaboodle. It's a really cool service where you can shop anywhere on the web and put everything in just one list. They even let you create a slideshow to share your wish lists!

Christmas Wishes 2011

Sleeping on the Interstate

2011-12-07T15:17:00.001-06:00

I absolutely love Granger Smith. I even got to see him live this summer in Austin, which was SO AMAZING. Right now I'm listening to one of my favorites called Sleeping on the Interstate. I love the lyrics where he talks about the white line stretching out "like a yellow brick road" and talking about trying to "live more like a lover than sinner".

Songs about the road and the journey of life really speak to me. I love it :) You will too... have a listen :)

The girl who has everything

2011-12-07T14:31:00.001-06:00

Mom asks for a Christmas list every year. Usually I peruse the internet for craft supplies, disney movies, clothes and gadgets and put together some ideas of things that I'd enjoy. For the past two years I've been using kaboodle.com to aggregate my list from any online merchant. It's been kinda fun to look back at what I asked for in years past, and I feel so blessed this year because a lot of those things I put on there I actually received in those years! How loved I feel to have such incredible friends and family who build on the ideas I give them and always give such lovely Christmas gifts!

gratefully yours,
*em

St. Nick's Day + Immaculate Conception!

2011-12-07T08:37:00.001-06:00

This week we celebrate two super exciting Catholic holidays! Yesterday, December 6th was St. Nick's Day, and tomorrow (the 8th) is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

St. Nick's Day is a big deal at my house. We always leave our shoes outside the door on the eve, and wait for St. Nick to deliver us gifts and goodies that morning. It was always so exciting to have something pre-Christmas to get excited about and celebrate with the family. Only regret for me is that I have small feet and therefore shoes ;)

This year I'm equally excited about celebrating the Immaculate Conception. I've been praying the rosary on my way to work, and trying to prepare for Christ's coming at Christmas. It's been so nice to pray the rosary and ask for the intercession of Mary to guide me to holiness. I'm really inspired by having a a real life woman to look up to. I'm so excited to celebrate her Immaculate Conception tomorrow, especially after listening to a podcast about the history of the feast. It was once a pretty contested dogma. Worth reading about if you're interested :)

Re: Swwweeeeeeeeeeeeepppy

2011-12-07T08:29:00.001-06:00

As an update, today I'm feeling SO much better. I went to bed at 9 last night (lol, I'm so old). On another note, I made it through yesterday without even falling to a chocolate fix or Diet Coke. And let me tell you- that was HARD.

Yay for feeling more myself today and actually having energy even though the sun still isn't out. Plus, life is good since I'm going HOOOOMMME tomorrow! Yay Austin!!!

And I'll leave you with a quote:
"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."
-Walt Disney

Happy Wednesday!
*Emily

Swwweeeeeeeeeeeeepppy

2011-12-06T14:53:00.001-06:00

Dude, lack of sun here in Detroit makes me SO TIRED. Seriously, I'm trying so hard not to fall asleep at my desk. Super lame. I'm about to go get some vending machine snack (read: chocolate) to have something keep me awake. I i wish I could have Diet Coke but I gave it up for Advent... :(

Trying so hard to stay strong

*emJ

WootOff!

2011-12-06T09:02:00.001-06:00

Yes, I'm trolling Woot today. There's a WootOff and I'm dying to see if I can get my hands on a Bag of Crap!

Pretty please?

Not ashamed...

*emJ

Let It Snow!

2011-12-05T21:56:00.001-06:00

I had the most lovely evening! Started off by learning 2 new Jazzercise routines and feeling super productive, then headed to Starbucks for a hot beverage as it's been snowing here since 1pm.

Next, a friend from the hotel picked me up and took me downtown to see the giant Christmas Tree and go ICE SKATING! In the SNOW! What an incredible way to get into the Christmas mood :)

JOY.

Love,
*emJ

PS- Pray that even with all the snow they're able to clear the roads at least before I have to drive forever to work...

A Shocking Realization

2011-12-04T19:10:00.001-06:00

I can't do everything. I sometimes forget this-- actually, let's be honest, I forget this a lot.

I think that's what makes it so shocking and hurtful when I get slapped on the face with reality.

When you travel this much...

2011-12-04T19:09:00.001-06:00

...you're bound to get bitten in the rear.

I am a Delta person. I fly Delta. Exclusively. Except, that is, yesterday when I was booked on a JetBlue flight from Orlando to Austin.

To set the scene, I was running late. This is obviously important since it contributes to my stress level and the string of unfortunate events which follow.

Arriving at the airport 20 minutes prior to flight is late. It's not quite unrecoverable, but you have to run. At least, you would if they would give you a boarding pass... But they won't print one within the 30 min window. So you have to wait in line to talk to someone. All the while wasting precious time, obviously.

Not that it matters anyway though. Upon getting to the front of the line I was told that the flight was already gone. It left early. Without all the checked in passengers on board. Wait, EXCUSE ME?

Yup.

Now I'm frustrated. Not only because I could have made it, except that it left early...and the agent working with me is purposefully slow and unwilling to help in any way. He just wants to tell me it's already gone and I'm screwed. But, I'm assured, not to worry too much-- they'll rebook me on the same flight tomorrow.

Wait... WHAT?! I have a flight out of Austin at 7am tomorrow! I can't just take a flight TO Austin at 2pm! Are you joking?

"Oh, well for an extra $100 you can take a non direct flight and get home at midnight. Then get up for your 7am flight." said the agent in a pointed and annoyed tone.

No way Jose. Get me out of here. Your attitude obviously shows that you could care less about helping me get out of there and are distinctly unwilling to even be nice about it.

Thanks for nothing, Mean Dude.

Forget JetBlue... I'm just booking a one way on Southwest. I get in at 8:30 so it's still at least 9 hours at home... I won't have to sleep at the airport, but I missed Bootcamp Thanksgiving. Heartbreaking. So crushed. That's my favorite thing of he year. :'(

Dear JetBlue,
Never again.

Love,
Emily

PS- Ever.

A Collection

2011-12-03T23:06:00.001-06:00

I've never really been a collector. When I was a kid I never really got into cards or dolls or coins. But when I worked at Disney I found something I absolutely needed to start collecting.

Much like the Cow Parade, Disney hired a bunch of artists to design blank sculptures. Though instead of life size cows to put all over town, they used 3" Mickey figurines. It's the cutest thing of all time.

The first series that came out was called Parks #1 and each of the 12 figures represented something grinning of the Disney parks. What an incredible idea.

To add a level of collector-ism to these 'Vinylmations' as they are called, each series has 12 published designs and one surprise "chaser" which is an unpublished surprise design. When you buy a Vinylmation, you don't know what figure you'll be getting since they are in sealed boxes.

The thought is to facilitate training since you never know which one you'll get, and you obviously will have favorites you simply need to own.

I'll admit it, I'm hooked. These guys are just too cute. And many of them have a true emotional significance to me from all my memories of the parks.

Plus, who doesn't love surprises?!

Vinylmation Park Series #1

Happy Monday all!
*emJ

Epcot

2011-12-03T23:01:00.001-06:00

Whole day at Epcot. Loved the new Michael Jackson show and always love soarin'! Even saw Belle and Beast in real life!!

Lovely weekend with the fam, now ready to head back to Austin for some home recharge and Bootcamp Thanksgiving :). Never a dull moment.

Sleep well,
*emJ

Celebrate the dream inside of you

2011-12-02T17:30:00.001-06:00

...the dream that just came true

Buy Me This

2011-12-01T09:50:00.001-06:00

Pls?

I'm sure you know that Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie. You probably also know that it is the absolute best love story of all time. (I mean, that seems obvious)

What you may not know is that there is a Disney BATB special about Christmas!!! It's phenomenal, I promise. And I've had the soundtrack stuck in my head all day.

As long as there's Christmas, we'll all be just fine. :)

<3
emJ

Could it be grace?

2011-12-01T09:37:00.003-06:00

This morning has been so lovely! :)

I feel so accomplished and joyful... maybe these things have something to do with it...

I'm so well rested after getting excellent sleep last night
Before leaving the hotel I planned an ice skating trip next week with my valet friend (yay for friends in Detroit!)
Prayed my rosary on the way to work (Glorious Mysteries today) and started Day 3 of the Immaculate Conception novena.
Started moving to our new development server at work meaning I'll get to actually build real database integration soon!
Downloaded a bunch of podcasts and am really excited about listening to them! I downloaded some "This American Life", some news and some Catholic stuff. You have to love learning about things!
Organized some financial stuff this morning and deposited a few checks [finally] via the Chase iPhone App (too cool!)

I'm not sure if this immense feeling of joy and productivity is from getting all this done, or something deeper...but I'm thinking that it has something to do with the prayer I've increased in my life this week. I'm pretty sure that I'm able to accomplish all this stuff and be so joyful about it because I've been doing so much better spiritually and really making an effort. I have to believe that it's no coincidence. It's grace. And praise God for that.

in faith,
Emily

The Paleo Solution

2011-12-01T09:37:00.001-06:00

I'm sure I'll spend a whole entry on this at some point or another, but I've been incorporating parts of the Paleo diet into my lifestyle for a few months now. Overall, I've been really happy with it... I can tell when I've been good on Paleo because I just feel so good. It really does make you realize that our bodies were built to digest certain things, and not others. My body functions at such a higher level when I'm doing a good diet. I sleep better, am more awake during the day, have more energy, etc. It's just good.

Anyway, since I'm on my Diet Coke Famine, I've been drinking a lot of hot tea. I really like tea, but I do need to sweeten it up just a little, so I've been using half a Splenda. But today, I found an even better (and Paleo) substitute. Honey! It tastes so good and only takes a little to sweeten the tea perfectly!

Just thought I'd share...

TTFN or ta-ta-for-now!
emJ

Crap. I'm so predictable.

2011-12-01T08:15:00.001-06:00

One thing that I absolutely love is targeted ads.
Amazon always knows what I will want to buy as soon as I see it.

...

That being said,
One thing that I absolutely hate is targeted ads.
Amazon always knows what I will absolutely have to buy as soon as I see it.

Sometimes, I feel like I must just be super predictable... they send me things like the email below, and I just can't help myself.

Of course, this is after I was already suckered into buying this last week--

At least I'll have the cutest phone ever!

Stay true to you, lol. It'll get you a bunch of shopping ideas of stuff you love :D

*Em

A Win for Technology

2011-12-01T07:14:00.001-06:00

Ok, I will fully admit that I suck at keeping up with small admin tasks. Like, say, depositing checks... or carrying cash so I can pay people back for stuff. I mean, I'm definitely a person who can be depended upon to be present...but being prepared is a stretch. Especially when it comes to finance type stuff. I'm not sure if it's because I'm just lazy, or because I hope my friends know that I'm good for it, or that I'll just cover them for something else... but it's not one of my best qualities. Until, that is, technology stepped in and saved my life. Here are 3 things that have seriously made finance related stuff SO MUCH EASIER for me. I hope they'll help you out as well!

Chase iPhone App

Deposit Checks from your iPhone. Does this really require any more explanation?
Alerts about when transactions go through, balance, etc
Transfer monies

Paypal

2 things: everyone has an email address and everyone wants to pay for everything with card.
I'm not sure why people don't use PayPal for freaking everything. As long as you know someone's phone number or email, you can send them money, or receive monies. Either from your bank or your credit card. It's so freaking easy! When I bought Beauty and the Beast tickets (AHHHH!!!! WE'RE GOING!!!!) I just had everyone paypal me the money. It was instant and super easy. Love it.

Direct Pay

Again, making it easy to pay people because this service sends someone a check for you. You just tell it the address and how much, and it does the rest. This is super helpful for people who don't have checks. Or even if they did, don't travel with them.

Yay for technology making everyone's life so much easier! So happy (and productive)!

Happy Thursday!

*emj

Sorrowful Mysteries

2011-11-30T12:30:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I am totally pathetic. Like today... I'm kinda suffering because I can't have my Diet Coke. Someone in my meeting has one sitting right in front of them and it's killing me. I just want that cold, refreshing taste so badly. Water is not cutting it today-- the excitement of giving up drinks for Advent has waned, and now I'm just cranky lol.

On a somewhat related note, I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries this morning on my way to work. Hearing all about Christ's suffering made me think of my own (and not in a "wow He had it so much worse" way). And let's face it - that's completely pathetic. There's no way that Christ's suffering on the cross in any way relates to my going without diet coke. Seriously, Emily? What ARE you?!

At least now as I reflect on my own suffering I can appreciate how insignificant it is compared to that which I heard about this morning. It adds good perspective to recall actual suffering, especially since it was for my sake.

Sometimes we fall. I'm still a work in progress.

<3
Emily

Funniest thing

2011-11-29T16:41:00.001-06:00

In the team room today, we needed to start a team Pandora station. I almost laughed out loud when I overheard the following:

Developer 1: What's your favorite artist, song or composter?
Guy in his 60s: Ooh Ooh! Celine Dion!!!

Oh, my. It's all coming back to me now.

lolz
*emj

***UPDATE***
After actually listening to the Celine Dion station, I have to say that I absolutely love it. Really, Celine Dion somehow translates to Disney music! Who knew?! I'm loving it.

Platinum!

2011-11-29T15:50:00.001-06:00

Made it to Delta Platinum membership! Sweet!!! Just in time for the end of the year :) I know I'm way behind most of my consulting coworkers, but that's because I took all summer off travel for Bootcamp 2011. Which, if you recall, was the best time of my life. :D

What were my other status accolades as we round out my first full year of consulting you may ask? Check it out:

Hyatt - Diamond
Delta - Platinum
Hertz - Gold Five Star

Someday I'll tell you all about which of these is worth anything, but the summary is that Hyatt and Delta both have rewards that are pretty good, while Hertz is totally worthless.

For Delta, I get upgraded to first class on flights 70%ish of the time, and I'm always on the list--and that just makes you feel good. They also give me a bunch of free drink coupons and such if I don't get upgraded, and I've never been totally screwed from not getting home (knock on wood!)

For Hyatt, if I call within 24 hours, they have to give me a room. That's super convenient if they're sold out and I forgot to book until super last minute. Also, they upgrade me to really nice suites a good amount of the time, and even if I'm not upgraded I'll be on the 14th floor so no one pounds on my ceiling all night. Breakfasts at Hyatt are always good and I've never had a problem with internet (cough cough, Marriott sucks). Overall, they're all around the best in my book.

For Hertz, your points are worthless. Your status is worthless. The only hope you have of a positive experience is if you actually make friends with someone there and make sure to talk to them every time. This usually works out pretty well, and I've had some great people help me out at Hertz....but if you're in a new city or you didn't get your person you're screwed. Also, don't ever try to use your points - it just makes the already angry employees even more frustrated and rude.

Geeking out at work today...

2011-11-29T14:08:00.001-06:00

All excited about working with random number generation today. Haha, I'm totally geeking out :D

Other things to get pumped about today?

I've shipped a bunch of my stuff from home in ATL to my Texas home! Highlights include:

Cinderella Castle Playset
My collection on Vinylmations
Willow Tree Nativity

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Tickets purchased, excitement already rising. I can not even wait for this event. I've already teared up twice just thinking about how incredible it's going to be when listening to the soundtrack.

Active Development @ Work

Unlike the past week (read: year), we are actually doing development today at work! Yay for actually getting my hands on some code rather than plan, plan, plan... it becomes sooooo tedious!

Friend Dinner Date

Finally get some company in Detroit! It's going to snow tonight, and a new friend and I are grabbing dinner or coffee or something when I'm done working! YAY for not being so completely alone in this town!

Advent: Day 2

2011-11-29T07:18:00.001-06:00

Advent is all about preparing for Jesus' coming, so that's what I'm going to try and do. I desperately want Him to come into my life in a bigger way, and I need him to help me grow and change at such a critical part of my life.

For Advent, I'm giving up Diet Coke (and, more specifically, only drinking water and tea).

...yup.

For those of you who know my addiction level to Diet Coke, you will know how much of a sacrifice this is. I drink a shameful amount of Diet Coke...and I definitely have a time of the day called "Diet Coke Time" where you hit that point at work where nothing but that ice cold beverage can help. But, instead of reaching for a Diet Coke when I get stressed or bored... the goal is to now focus that energy and "need" to God. After all, he can fulfill me so much more than any diet coke could. And yes, that is hard to say based on my level of enjoyment of Diet Coke.

It's going to be a long Advent, but there's so much joy with this season (vacation from work, seeing family, etc) that I have faith I will make it. And by the end of it, I hope to have grown so much closer to Jesus and be able to rely on him the way I should. The world is not where I should put my trust, since it can't give the true peace and love that will fulfill and guide me - nor can it help me find God's will for my life, which I so desperately want to discern.

In addition to the Diet Coke Famine, I'm also working on an increase in my prayer life. This morning I prayed a Rosary on the way into work (new download on my ipod :) and yesterday I had a lot of "give me strength" and "i need you" prayers during day one without my diet coke ;) I'm sure those will become much less shallow as time goes on, and that I can grow closer to Jesus through this sacrifice and a bigger devotion to prayer.

I'll be praying for you all :D

*EmJ

Oh come Emmanuel!

2011-11-27T17:19:00.001-06:00

Happy new year to you all :)

I'm so happy that it is finally advent! Can't wait to share my new years resolutions next post- stay tuned!!

Balderdash

2011-11-26T20:02:00.001-06:00

A running joke in my family is that i seriously suck at the game Balderdash. Honestly, I wish I wasn't so bad at this game- but I always lose by a shameful amount. Maybe it's cuz I'm a bad liar...or maybe it's because I just laugh and laugh every time they read my answer.

Either way, family game night rocks even if I get made fun of the whole night and never get to move my game piece.

Yay for family time <3

*emj

The most thankful

2011-11-26T09:38:00.001-06:00

Family.
High school peeps.
College peeps.
Food.
Familiar places.
Georgia Tech.
Belonging.
SO much to be thankful for.
SO much joy.

TJ and I on the Tech Trolly on our way to the UGA vs. GT game!

Published!

2011-11-22T08:07:00.001-06:00

Today I made my very first worldwide appearance on the Blueworks Live site! Check out my post, or go to BlueworksLive.com and click community. :)

SO FREAKING EXCITED.

Read it and let me know what you think :)

Overwhelmed with Joy

2011-11-17T06:59:00.001-06:00

Beauty and the Beast is coming to Austin. OH MY GOODNESS. I am so filled with joy and excitement I can't even sit still right now. As soon as I get home tonight I NEED to buy tickets. Thank you, Disney for the best Christmas gift a girl could ask for. I'm going to cry I'm so happy right now. This is exactly what I needed being sick on the road in Detroit all week, plus the pressure of Playback 1 and loosing all of Monday work hours due to cancelled flight.

Funny how just one little piece of news changes your whole perspective. Oh, JOY! I'm going to see BATB this December! Can't even wait to buy tickets and make my dreams come true :D

One passion, one dream
One thing forever true
I love you!

*Emily

Sick :(

2011-11-16T14:31:00.001-06:00

On the road an sick totally sucks... Can I feel better already? It's almost the holidays and I need to get into the spirit!!

Sunday Sunday

2011-11-13T13:47:00.001-06:00

Best weekend ever. SO glad to be home! More later, but if anyone knows how to turn back time I vote for that.

Love!
Emj

Back on the grid too! New iPhone :)

Process Discovery

2011-10-31T23:04:00.000-05:00

First few weeks on a client site are always about discovering the process and defining requirements. Once we mapped out most of the process detail, we began making estimates for each task. As we move forward onthis project, I'm going to start blogging about our discovery process and development efforts to start getting ideas for my Impact talk. Some ideas that crossed my mind today are below. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write at least one blog entry this week and start getting my name out in the virtual BPM community on Blueworks Live. :)

Topics to consider:

Stopping the "Status" conversations
How to estimate in front of a client, then enable customers to make estimates
Empowering customers to let go of unnecessary process steps
Helping customers to determine valuable and effective depth of process

ie, don't live at too high of a level, but don't get distracted by the details

Tips for effective process discovery

Determine appropriate detail for each phase of discovery documentation, and stick to it
Explain concepts to ensure only valuable process is captured
Understand real versus perceived process requirements
How to stop the cycle of "well, we do it this way and it mostly works so let's keep doing it"
Keep meetings interesting so you document accurate process without clients being distracted
Effective titling of user stories

The Gift of Presence

2011-10-29T00:31:00.001-05:00

Isn't it strange how someone's mere presence can affect you sometimes? Just them being right there makes a difference in your whole world.

Gee...it's cold up here

2011-10-25T21:52:00.000-05:00

First week in Detroit! So far the project is really awesome, but woah it's cold up here!!!

More on Detroit soon... today was busy and I'm exhausted...
7am - Mass
8am - Work (Process Discovery Phase of project)
5:45pm Jazzercise
7:30pm - Catholic Young Adult Group Coffee Hour
9:30pm - Shopping!
10:00pm - Packing
11:00pm - SLEEP.

Snap. SO much accomplished today! Yay for being productive!! Can't wait to be back in Austin tomorrow night!

*EmJ

Time to Conquer the World

2011-10-20T02:39:00.000-05:00

Taught a whole cardio set at Jazzercise today. I'm so excited, I'm onto the big leagues!!! It didn't go perfectly by any means...but I still did it. Stayed up there, kept moving and teaching... didn't ever stop and cry or get too overwhelmed. It felt so good once I got off stage that everyone clapped and said I did a great job. So motivating.

I'm teaching again tomorrow (whole cardio set) then on Sunday I'm teaching the whole freaking class. SNAP. This is real...can you believe it?!

Song for this mood? "I love this Road" by Emerson Drive.

Now to finish my set and make sure I'm ready for Sunday...
Nose to grindstone.
Let's go.

<3
Em

In Betweenies

2011-10-18T23:13:00.000-05:00

I hate the "in between" times. You know... it's those times where you're in between big events or stable life patterns or stuff. Like the time between when school ends and you start working for the summer, or the time in between two big assignments, or the time in between big exam periods, etc.

The lack of structure and busy-ness during those times KILLS me. Not having any kind of predictable schedule makes me super unproductive, and usually I end up having at least one day of being really down. It's so demotivating when you don't have enough to do to keep yourself busy and productive, and I always just end up being lazy and unproductive. This leads to me becoming super sad and not getting anything done.

Yesterday was one of those days. I recently finished up all of Bootcamp 2011. And we've just finished 2/3 groups of fly down interviews for college recruiting. And I have one week on the bench in between being super busy with bootcamp/recruiting before I start my new assignment in Detroit.

So, yeah, the in between times... totally killer.

Luckily for me, I got out of my funk today. The weather here in Austin is absolutely gorgeous and I actually got stuff done. I super cleaned my entire apartment, made some recruiting calls, followed up with some other work and made a plan for the rest of the week. I'm back on the horse and feeling good. It feels so good to be myself again. It's time to get excited and productive, not just slack anymore. One day of that is enough.

To Do This Week

Study for Level 2 Certification
Expense Reports
Finalize Recruiting Prep for Final Fly-downs
Teach Jazzercise
Learn 2 new Jazzercise routines
Buy hotel/car for Detroit trip

A Sad Football Day

2011-10-16T16:08:00.000-05:00

I got to go to my first ever UT game yesterday!! Dude...that stadium is HUGE. There were 100,101 people in attendance... and everyone was in orange. In terms of college football, that's how it done. Had such a great time and gotta say I loved wearing burnt orange :)

Bad news is that they lost to OSU...AND Georgia Tech lost yesterday to UVA. :'( Super lame.

Jazzercise Progress

2011-10-13T13:57:00.000-05:00

So, I'm sure you all know that I'm a very recently certified Jazzercise Instructor. It's been a really great ride over the past 6 years falling in love with Jazzercise, getting to dance all over the country, and become so passionate about it that I decided to apply to be an instructor.

To start the process, I needed to attend a movement screening, become CPR certified, and make an initial franchise investment. Then, I learned 10 routines and performed an audition in Dallas. After passing the audition there was an entire weekend of events to perfect movement technique and learn the business.

After returning from workshop I've been able to team teach with some seriously incredible instructors here in Austin, and have had a great time doing it. Teaching is so much fun, especially when there's such a great support here for new instructors.

My goal is to be able to teach a full class by the end of October. I practiced a whole cardio set last night and it went alright. Definitely still some work to do, but on the right track :)

I'll keep you posted!

*Em

Why can't everyone win?

2011-10-10T16:13:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love college recruiting. It's been incredible getting to organize which schools to visit, which candidates to interview based on resumes and career fairs, etc. I absolutely love making the calls to invite people to Austin, and seeing them when they get here! Interviews on site are always the best because they really get to see the culture and feel of the office as well as how much everyone loves what they do.

...but not everyone can't win.

Today I had to make some calls to candidates that we couldn't make offers to. It was heartbreaking. Literally. I'm totally wiped emotionally. :( It's crushing to have to call candidates who are so excited about this job not being able to give them an offer. crushing.

I need a emotional pick me up please.

A long week

2011-10-07T16:06:00.000-05:00

I am so exhausted... This week has been the busiest week of all time. I've been super productive both at work and having fun, but it's Friday @ 4pm, and I've got nothing left. I think it's time to go home and lay around for a few hours before Granger Smith concert. I need some couch time and The Swan Princess on Netflix to fall asleep to.

g'night!
*em

A lovely morning

2011-10-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

I'm getting old. I can't sleep in anymore. Last night I was out until 3am (on a work night!), but I still woke up at 8 ready to get to work and start my day. Crazy how in college I could sleep until noon and now I feel so much less accomplished if I don't wake up before 9 or 10 and get a head start on the day. I kind of like it because it put me in situations where I get to have breakfast with my awesome coworkers and work outside at a cutesy Austin coffee shop. Let's face it, that just makes you feel cool.

It's easy to be SO joyful and thankful when you have the incredible coworkers that I do. And when you live in a town like this. And have friends like I do. And a job that is truly incredible.

Happy morning! Happy day!

*Em

sigh

2011-10-05T18:46:00.000-05:00

A lot of my life strategy revolves around being a little girl.

Why don't I lift heavy suitcases into overhead bins on airplanes? Because I'm a little girl and I can't reach. So I give a very very sincere and nice thank you if someone helps me out. It works like a charm a lot of the time...but other times it totally screws you.

One example?

1. Emily walks into car repair shop looking to get brakes checked.
2. Car Repair Dude sees little girl and knows it's time to quote one million dollars.
3. In an effort to beat stereotype of little girls in car repair shops, Emily whips out fancy car terminology courtesy of Google (which may or may not make sense in this context).
4. Car Repair Dude's suspicions instantly confirmed that she is a newb.
5. Quote? .....$850. Not gonna happen today, dude. I'm calling a boy.

Beauty

2011-10-05T18:19:00.000-05:00

Today, I actually teared up at lunch because the view was so beautiful. Now, I definitely realize how ridiculous I am, so don't worry. I just was totally awe struck for a few moments of the immense beauty of the view and the scenery. It was an incredible moment to just sit and be thankful. To just feel God's love and this beautiful gift of an experience.

Today was a crazy work day getting a bunch of communication and coordination done for on-site interviews on Friday, but then I got to head out to lunch with a good friend on Lake Travis (mentioned above) and even made it to Jazzercise. Now it's on to dinner with another favorite and karaoke! What a lucky (but busy) girl I have been this week!

Stop and enjoy the beauty around YOU today!

Love,
Emily

Productivity

2011-10-03T19:26:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting thought today.

It all started because I've had SUCH a productive day, which I'm so excited about and proud of. I love days when I get to do all (or at least most) the things that I really care about. It seriously makes me the happiest :) Checklist for the super productive day? See below:

Awesome work day! I got everything urgent off my to do list, most of which was related to getting ready for the first first group of on-site interviews this Friday
4:30 Jazzercise @ Lakeline. It was an awesome workout, which included one of my workshop routines and a bunch of new songs too!
Confession @ St. Williams. Yay for sacraments and walking away clean as snow! I was one week late (previous goal to go every two weeks), but I'll get back on track next Monday. Such a good feeling!
Singing with Mark. Good times doing something I love with such a close friend :)

It's always the people that make it the best days.

Anyway, back to my thought. I wanted to write a post about being productive and it made me think about the word 'productive'. It must be somehow related to the verb 'produce'...but that seems interesting to me since it kind of assumes that in order to be productive you have to produce something. That seems lame, doesn't it? I don't know much about words, but that seemed interesting to me.

Happy Monday!
*Emily

A whirlwind of incredible FOOD

2011-10-03T15:58:00.000-05:00

Over the course of the past few days, I've had the incredible opportunity to eat some seriously phenonemonal food. Here's some of the highlights... hope you don't get too hungry and jealous :)

West Egg Cafe

West Egg Cafe is right next to Georgia Tech campus, and they have seriously the most fresh and innovative breakfasts ever. Everything is always super good you never know what to choose. This time, based on Sean's recommendation I tried the Pimiento Cheese & Bacon Omelet (pictured above). It was mouth watering-ly excellent. I LOVE breakfast food...fresh and good breakfast is such the perfect way to start the day.

Ecco

Ecco has to be one of my favorite restaurants in all of Atlanta. The only thing I don't like about it is that I get so emotionally invested in loving the menu and everything on it, I am forced to be heartbroken when the menu changes seasonally and I have to learn how to have new favorites. When we took some interview candidates out to dinner on Friday night, we had the pleasure of eating at Ecco and ordered some Fried Goat Cheese (above). They were pure heaven.

Einstein's

Again, you can honestly never go wrong with breakfast food. We went to Einsteins in downtown Atlanta and they had pumpkin bread. Oh-my-goodness. Anything with pumpkin in it this season has my INSTANT attention. It was heavenly.

Fino

Fino's here in Austin, but definitely deserved some hype as well. Alan and I headed out for some paella and also had some incredible calamari, fried goat cheese (you can't see it on the menu and NOT order it), and so much more.

Yay for food and the joy it brings!!

Now, to the gym...

*emJ