turkeys, thanks, and other t words

A year ago I wrote a blog that listed an odd assortment of things for which I was thankful. It wasn't your Average Joe list of, "I am thankful for family, friends, food, love, life..." etc., etc., yadda yadda yadda. As much as I have avoided those sappy dappy lists, (they are so not creative enough for my mind that is flowing forth with creativeness, right?) as I was trying my best to keep up with the creativity and keep down with the sappiness this year I noticed that I could not avoid it. Miss Sappy Pants found me and has been trying to ooze out of my brain and into my keyboard and onto my blog. A lot of things have been going on these past few months and as much as I would like to type about how I am thankful that my hair is straight because I don't have to obsess like Ann if the back of my hair is as perfectly curled as the front of my hair, I would also like to type about how thankful I am for my family and friends and food and all that yadda yadda stuff. I have mixed in Sappy and tried to hide her with a layer or two of creativity (with a cherry on top) so here we go! Let's give some thanks. 

1. I am thankful that my hair is straight and I don't have to worry if all my hair is equally curled. Because, guess what? All of my hair is curled equally to a degree of zero. Beat that, Ann.
2. I am thankful for peanut butter. In all forms. But mostly the m&m and Snickers forms. 
3. I am thankful that being a Nanny/babysitter extreme for several years has taught me valuable life lessons such as a mixture of water and vinegar works magic on most things. High five for getting stains out of my 22 year old self's clothes. 
4. I am thankful for Kroger cards and gas points, but I am mostly thankful for the Edgewood Kroger for having an impeccable cheese shop. 
5. I am thankful that as I sit here typing this, the Dids is peacefully napping with a happy and newly refurbished heart. Those new re-done hearts, such a hot commodity right now, sheesh. 
6. I am so incredibly thankful that I was able to return to Agnes this year. I have been busy and stressed and then busy some more, but boy have I enjoyed it. I also am registered for my last semester of college and it sure does feel good. (until  I think about what comes after that semester...)
7. I am thankful that I was able to perform again at Agnes. There is nothing quite like being in rehearsals 23/6 and having bleeding feet and purple bruises and having the most fun with the best people. Shout out to my SDT famdam! (not std's y'all crazy pants).
8. I am thankful that Christmas finally decided to show up again. and it brought along music! and trees! and cookies! and Santa! and all the happiness in the whole wide world! plus some more! 
9. I am thankful that even after I shared the secret of the name of my future baby on this blog that none of you have gone out and had babies just to name them this secret name. Phewie! 
10. I am thankful that the Bubs, aka Michael Buble came out with a Christmas song all about how he wants to fall in love with me this Christmas. Cold December Night, check it out and belt it out, yo.
11. I am thankful that Freddie plays Christmas music on Pandora when we're together. On that note, I am thankful that Freddie is Freddie and is my Freddiefriend! (awww the sappiness, look at it coming out and spilling erry'where.)
12. I am thankful that my mom has found a newish hobby (acting) that is second in line to her hobby of sitting around thinking about what a perfect kid I am. I will say, watching her perform is slightly more entertaining than watching her sit and think about me 24/7. Geeeeez mooooom, you can at least do something else for a couple hours during the week.
13. I am thankful that I can skip out seeing the new Twilight movie with my friends because my father wants to go with me when I come home. Word up! Russ Moore lurves the Twilight and I lurve watching it with him.    
14. I am thankful that when my brother calls to say Happy Thanksgiving that he also says he is spending the day working as a Storm Trooper. Some Star Wars T-giving Day love right there. I also was thankful that I could say, "See you in two weeks!!" Countdown to Disney (and Josey Wosey) starts...now. 
15. I am thankful for vacuum cleaners and their innate ability to suck up dead roaches. Grossandthankyamuch.
16. I am thankful that I will be able to officially start watching Christmas movies TONIGHT! Because now that the meal is over and my blog is almost posted it is Christmas season for reals, right?!
17. I am thankful for my planner because without it I would forget to do things like homework, write blogs, homework, go to meetings, homework, appointments, and homework. 
18. I am thankful for the Groupon today that was half off candy at Fuzziwig's. Is this real life?
19. I am thankful that every 5 minutes or so Diddy coughs up a lung to remind us all that he is still alive. 
20. I am the most thankful for Steve Martin and his tweets. How one person can be so funny and clever and make LOL like OMG is crazy. His tweets are perfect. 

This is my best try at a Thanksgiving tree. (I tried really hard.) Happy Thanksgiving!

she's a dancing machine

I haven't posted in forever. And for those of you that have long been searching for the definition of forever, I have it here: 2 weeks. In these two weeks that I have been absent I have been busy doing a lot of things:

Singing Celine Dion music like my life is musical about how my heart will go on and stuff like that.

Researching gifted education like it is my job. Or just my grade...

Eating Peanut Butter M&Ms like I always do.

Sleeping in like I didn't have a goal to run three times a week.

Rehearsing like I have a dance show coming up or something.

Oh wait! I do have a dance performance coming up! Today! and tomorrow! 

In the midst of all this Celine-ing and education-ing and m&m-ing, I have been a dancing fool. My heavily bruised knees and tulle burned legs will back me up on that. I have also created a habit out of literally passing out in a heavily induced slumber every single night. Anyways, I say all of this so that you will come to my shows! Yes, you! And you. And anyone who reads this. In fact, if you read this blog it is mandatory that you have to come to my dance show. (good thing only my family read it, they won't let me down!) 

There is going to be ballet and some not ballet and some modern and some fun at these shows. So come have some fun with moi. And mes amis. 

See you there! With flowers and other luscious gifts for us dancers, I am sure!

p.s.--the Jackson 5 were obviously singing about us Agnes Scott Dancers in their song. 

p.p.s.-- here is a picture to make you want to come even more...

speed racer and other fast things

Alrighty, here is the deal. I am not a speeder or a racer. But about a month and a half ago I did get my very first speeding ticket. You know how families celebrate their child's first everything? First step, first Christmas, first tooth, first smile, etc. etc.? Ever notice how first speeding ticket didn't make the cut? While I was not speed racing when I got said ticket, I was apparently speeding. (I'm really good at twisting this to make myself sound innocent because I am highly embarrassed that I got a ticket and you should be glad I am sharing this with you and the entire internet.)


Now, I had not planned on sharing this horrible part of my life with y'all, but after going to court yesterday and all the ridiculousness that followed I decided that, by golly, if this experience wasn't a blog post in the making then I don't know what was!

Fun fact #2354 about Emily C. Moore Butts: I am terrified of getting in trouble. Terrified. I get anxious thinking about it. Examples? Throughout school I never ever raised my hand in class for fear of being wrong. In second grade, the teacher accidentally wrote my name on the board then apologized profusely once she realized her mistake. It was too late, I was scarred forever. When I was younger, I was an incredibly picky eater but was always too afraid to order my cheeseburger plain or order the food that way I wanted because I was scared the waiter would be mad at me. Do I sound crazy enough yet?

Side note: having this totally understandable and not at all crazy fear and being Mary Caroline's daughter has not been an easy journey. MC is the one that is like "Hey hey! It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission!" She frequently likes to cheat the system at Disney and break in lines, stay for things we have too many people for, use fast passes that have expired...I could go on about this woman and how I have been traumatized. 

Needless to say, when I got pulled over on a Sunday morning as I was going to church I was ready to pee in my pants because I'm pretty sure those flashing lights mean that you have done something wrong. Did I mention that on this particular Sunday that I got pulled over on the way to church was also Freddie's birthday? Cops these days, have no mercy for birthdays and church goers.

I kind of tried my very best to push this incident far far back into the depths of my brain, but November 3, the ever so glamorous court date, crept up on me anyways. Now I had to be worried and terrified of yet another thing. Court! Bad people! Only bad people have to go to court! Everyone there will know I did something dumb! I don't even know what I am supposed to do! <<Look at all these worries, all of them so justified. Everyone was telling me what to expect and yet somehow everyone's version of what to expect was different.  I just went ahead and accepted that I would probably be carted off to jail immediately because of this horrible crime I had committed. I don't get tickets! I don't get in trouble! Couldn't I just tell the judge that?

Dearest Russell, knowing my irrational fears and being the best dad ever, decided that he was coming up to go with me. I was all like, "Ohhh Daddy-o, that is unnecessary. I am 22 years old. If you just tell me what to do and expect I will probably be fine." In my head I was like, "cry cry cry, whyyyyyyyy can't you just go for me and I can stay at home and hide forever??"

This thought of Russ coming with me and being there for me as I was Shaky McShakerson in my pants and saying what my plea was and everything was a very nice thought. And that is exactly just what it was, a thought. Because lawhammery, heaven forbid that something actually go right with this whole speedingticketiamgoingtocourt thing! After getting to City Hall several minutes late and not being able to find a parking spot anywhere and going in sans Russell so he could go park the car in East Africa and missing the whole explanation of what my plea options were, I scurried to find just one empty seat in the courtroom of 100+ people right before the judge started calling out names. Can you guess what happened next?

Dialouge in my head: I can't believe I'm late. What am I supposed to do now? Ugh ugh ugh. Good thing there are so many people here. I'll watch what other people do when their name is called and I'll know what to do when they call my na...

Judge: Emily Moore. 

Did that really just happen? Was my name seriously called first out of everyone in that room? YES. That was not a funny trick and I was kind of secretly hoping that this was another incident where there happened to be another Emily Moore. No such luck, it was all on me.

The good news of this whole story? I came out alive. I know you were all worried.
The moral of the story? Never get in trouble because then you have to go to court and go to jail and write a blog about it! Okay, okay, enough with the drama. 


I paid my fine as everyone else in my group trudged on to the probation office. Dad and I finished off the exciting morning with a delicious and very nutritious breakfast because nothing is as comforting as b-fast food.  Things I realized during breakfast: Getting called first was ridiculous. I am ridiculous. But only a little because shut up, that really was scary. My dad is the best. Whole wheat toast with butter is good.

Drive safe. Don't speed. Especially on birthdays and Sundays.