blessed not stressed

Well dudes and dudettes, somehow the Earth managed to rotate a whole 366 times, and we meet again on a Thanksgiving day.

I really can't believe it. Sometimes I think I'll wake up and it'll be Thanksgiving 2029 already (and I'll be rocking the age of forty, obvi), but that's neither here nor there.

As with every Thanksgiving, it's time for a thankful post. As with every Thanksgiving thankful post, it's time to skip the obvious things for which I am thankful and dig deep to find some not-so-obvious things for which I am thankful.

This Thanksgiving I am so #grateful #blessed #notstressed for...

Josiah from Planetary Bicycles
Because he found and picked up Lupe (he called Lupe "Beans," but we'll forgive him) and gave him to us. Josiah, you're an angel. Lupe, you're the best.

Concealer
Because during this Great Acne Breakout Of 2016, I have been able to leave the house looking only mostly red vs. entirely red. Thanks, concealer.

Cheese
Because cheese. #worththestomachcramps

Clorox wipes
Because sometimes deep cleaning is hard, and a quick Clorox wipe wipe down will do the trick. The term sometimes here refers to mostly all of the time, just to clarify.

Target's dollar section
Because where else could I stock up on cute as a button $1 cards that just sit in a drawer in our apartment because I never remember to send them?!

Costco
Because samples.

The dude in the sandwich line at Central Market 
Because he informed me my book of stamps had fallen out of my purse. I need that book of stamps in case one day I remember to send the $1 cards I got in the Target dollar section! !! !!!

The Pilates mat exercise, Jackknife
Because it is the most humbling/omg-why-don't-my-muscles-work Pilates move ever.

My giant drying rack from IKEA
Because finding creative places to drape clothing gets harder with each load of laundry.

Southwest flight attendants
Because how are they always so happy and hilarious?! And why haven't other airlines caught on...

Happy night before Thanksgiving!

May your sweet potato casseroles be as sweet as your faces. 

on to christmas

It's hard to write a post about Thanksgiving when I'm sitting on my couch, staring at our Christmas tree. The colorful lights are making our floors look like a mix of pinky, and blue-y, and green-y. The party lights from the projection tree topper (seriously, best purchase ever. All the Christmas raves are happening here because of this baby.) are making this apartment HOPPIN'. 

Since I just can't find the Thanksgiving words with my Christmas surroundings, and because a picture is worth a thousand words I will now give you a five thousand word post merely by posting five pictures from my weekend of thanks and giving. 

Thanksgiving Eve consisted of Freddie cooking and me sitting and watching while singing with Lupe.

Ironically, this is what every evening looks like at our house. 

Our sweet friends (and fan-freaking-tastic wedding photographers) invited us to spend Thanksgiving with their family here in Texas. I never realized how much a) living this far away from family sucked during the holidays and b) how much having sweet friends rocked. Also guacamole was served along with all the regular Thanksgiving foods so basically best first Texas Thanksgiving ever.

I say all of this unnecessarily to preface this picture of Freddie's hiney way up in the air helping with the tree train. What a booty-ful picture.

I had my first Black Friday shopping experience. Or I guess you could say my first Black Friday ride-along shopping experience. I don't know what all your people are talking about when you speak of the BF craziness.

Here's how it went down. Got in line at 4:30. Got inside Target at 6. Walked to the back of the store. By the time we got to the back, our friend Randy was already paying for his Apple Watch. Walked back outside at 6:11. Got a trophy for calmest Black Friday shopping. 

We have a dog named Lupe. He likes to lick a lot. Especially when Thanksgiving selfies are involved.

Also, is Lupe a girl's name? Did we fail as doggy parents? Because so many people here call him a girl. Can we just agree Lupe is a gender neutral name?

I tend to view Thanksgiving as an obstacle on the road to Christmas. SO GUESS WHAT? You best believe this beautiful, youthful, goddess of a Christmas tree came home with us after Thursday was over.

It's tiny which is perfect for our tiny apartment. It's also cute and that helps with the cuteness factor of our apartment, as well.

And now I think I'll get that Christmas music turnt up and get this Monday moving along.
How was your Thanksgiving? 

thnx for spnx

As most of you know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. For those who did not know that, might I suggest a new calendar for Christmas this year?

Every year around Thanksgiving I have a hard time deciding on a post. I am passenger #1 on the struggle bus here, folks. Do I post something sweet and meaningful that touches the hearts of the millions few that read this blog? Or do I come up with something short and somewhat slightly and/or entirely hilarious? 

I am going with Option C here today. We all know that we all are thankful for family. And friends. And food. And hashtags so that we can hashtag blessed our blessings. But today I want to dig a little bit deeper into exactly what my blessings are and why I am grateful for said blessings.

Spanx

I love food, and I love looking like I don't have a food baby (when I really do) when wearing tighter clothing. #illtakethatsecondpieceofcheesecake

People who give good pedicures.

I've been on this kick lately of Hey! I'll save money by giving myself pedicures! HAHAHA. I tried so hard to convince myself it was almost as good, but trust me: there is an art to scrubbing off dead skin, and I am nowhere near mastering that art.

Tweezers

Because chest hair looks good on no one. Especially on those who have no cleavage to cover up said little chest hairs (me) (tmi, but not tmi). 

Dog bones

Sometimes I just don't want Mr. Needy Pants Lupe all up in my bid-ness. Bribery works, people. Especially with dogs. This is where I will insert hashtag no guilt.

Dry cleaners

Making Freddie's work shirts look amazing and profesh since 2013. Thank you from the very, VERY bottom of my iron sucking/hating heart. 

Taste buds

Without taste buds, how would I ever know how to-die-for-delicious Talenti's gelato is? That would be such a sad life. 

Pause. Takes a break to eat another spoonful of gelato. Unpause. 

Mothers

Freddie and I left some clothes at home from our most recent trip. When we opened the box of clothes my mother had returned to us via the mail, we also discovered $20. I am so excited to start accidentally leaving more clothes in Georgia. Wink. 

Knees down while doing push-ups

Without this modification, I would never feel strong. Thank you, exercise modifications, for making me feel stronger than I really am. 

Sweet potatoes (a.k.a. Freddie's mom and dad)

You're probably wondering what Freddie's parents have anything to do with sweet potatoes, but if it wasn't for the perfect mixture of the two of them, Freddie wouldn't have turned out the way he is now. This means he would have never thought to put the exact spices together to make his DELICIOUS roasted sweet potatoes that I want to eat every day for the rest of my life. 

Blankets/socks/Freddie's legs/space between couch cushions in which I can stick my cold feet

Because how else am I supposed to get my cold feet to get any level of warmness? 

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

May your Thanksgiving table be almost as full as your heart. 

some soul goodness

Thanksgiving did good to my soul. I never really understood what in the world people were talking about when they used that expression: good to my soul. I mean I got the gist of it like, Wow something was great and wonderful. We get it, sure. But it wasn't until I became a grown-up (according to whom?!) and started worrying about money and jobs and bills and taking care of others and why won't this stain come out of Freddie's dress shirt and why is my car making weird noises again and why am I the worst teacher stress and living away from family woes that I realized my soul needed some goodness. 

And times like Thanksgiving, times when I can sit and relish in nothing but uninterrupted nothingness and family time, that did my soul some real good. I ate. I drank wine. I played Quelf too many times to admit (okay, 4 or 5ish times....). I slept in. I went to Pilates. I had no schedule and no classes to teach, no rehearsals to run, no one to remind to use ballerina manners. It was all so glorious, typing it out just makes my soul want that goodness again (by the way, 14 days until Christmas break, but who's counting?).

^^ all the Moore children together means having mo(o)re fun

^^thankful rolls! 5 of which ended up in my belly

As you can see I'm very thankful for a sister who takes nice pictures because this is Thanksgiving as seen through Emily's iPhone...

^^Playing Quelf

^^More Quelf-ing (or is it just Freddie being Freddie...?) It's Quelf. Don't worry. 

And this, my friends, is a recipe blog post on how to have some good to your soul.
Happy Friday!

on the night before thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow which means I'm spending today deciding on if I want to eat 4 or 5 helpings of sweet potatoes at the Thanksgiving feast. Hard decisions take time, people. And by the way, I'm thinking maybe 6 helpings is okay? I don't like turkey so I have to fill that empty part of my Thanksgiving belly with something. Enter the 6 helpings of sweet potato casserole. 

In true I am grateful for lots of things form, I figured today was as good a day as any to write a thankful list. It's also as good a day as any for you to sit down and read my thankful list, obviously.

I am thankful for raincoats.

Umbrellas are cool too, I guess, but I always forget to put them back in my car. While we're on umbrellas, has anyone ever successfully closed and refolded an umbrella? No, they haven't. It is impossible. It has been raining non-stop here in Chucktown so I'm just really really thankful for my trusty 'ole raincoat that keeps me semi-dry as I hop around town. 

I am thankful for children. 

Because of my job I spend 96% of my time with kids. Even though sometimes they make me want to pull out my hair or sit in the middle of the floor and cry while they run around, they are amazing little people full of love and life. They give the best hugs, draw the most stylish stick figure Miss Emily, and they know that one minute of sweetness makes up for sixty minutes of horribleness so...there's that. They're smart and tricky and I love 'em. 

I am thankful for pictures.

If it were up to me, every wall in the house would be covered in wallpaper made from pictures of past and present. I don't think I could put my love for the Timehop app into words. Come on. This is what my sister and I were doing 7 years ago today?! You don't say.

Ann is going to kill me for this, but I mean how sad would my life be if I totally had forgotten this picture existed? Thanks, Timehop, for keeping my life happy and fun. 

 I am thankful for a husband who lets me use his arms as my dance partners on the reg. Oh, you're trying to cook dinner? Let me just steal your right arm there so I can pirouette and arabesque with it. 

 I am thankful for a family who makes life so fun that I get sad at least once daily because I'm not with them.

I am thankful for in-laws who know how to throw down and party, jello shots included. 

I am thankful for friends who remember that I hate talking on the phone and still keep in touch with me by putting up with daily/weekly novel long texts. 

Happy almost Thanksgiving!

May your bellies be as full as your hearts. 

giving thanks for fun

At 5:15 today I officially will be on Thanksgiving break. I'm planning on grand jete-ing out of modern class this afternoon and praising the education gods for cool beans teacher perks like school breaks. 

This break and I, we've got some really good plans underway. Like mopping the floors, getting a haircut, cleaning the dust off of the baseboards, and ahhhhh, I can picture the sparkling clean apartment with my sparkling new haircut now. And both are shining bright Rihanna style, for sure. 

But the best plan of all? Going home for Thanksgiving. Home! The Nan! The fam! Now along with about 97.65% of the population, I'm much more of a Christmas gal. Thanksgiving has always felt more like an obstacle over which we have to jump on our way to Christmas--an obstacle with not-so-delicious food. So sue me, but it hasn't been until I've gotten older that my tastebuds have become acclimated to turkey and dressing. They will never ever become acclimated to cranberry sauce. Ick. However, in recent years I've found some ways to make Thanksgivings less obstacle-like and more fun time party-like. 

Take notes. You only have 6 more days to survive without letting your Christmas spirit burst from every inch of your body and you're going to need help keeping those Christmas spirits contained. 

one

Dress-up

I don't mean in the look-fancy-kinda-of-way. Even though when you know you be looking gooooood it does make everything more fun. I mean this is the 5-year old costume box dress-up kind of way. Dress the frick up! 

This fun time party trick started 6 years ago when my mom made us wear Pilgrim and Indian hats at the dinner table. I have a friend whose mom makes them wear full-on Pilgrim and Indian costumes at some point during the day. Roll your eyes all you want. Dressing up and pretending to be a child again is fun. Not dressing up and being an adult all the time is not fun. 

two

Get crafty

Everybody is all about crafting for Christmas, but whatever happened to crafting for Thanksgiving? Crafting is something for which I am very grateful so when is a better time to show my gratitude towards it than on the holiday of thankfulness?! Our turkey table will be sporting these crafted placemats. If this doesn't spell out f-u-n then shoot! I don't know what does.

^^sarcasm^^ ^^but it really does sound fun to me...^^

three

Roll with it

Rolls are delicious. I myself eat about 6 rolls during a typical Thanksgiving dinner because I think my body is deformed in the sense that it could run solely off of carbs and be completely fine. Regardless, I love bread of all kinds. And who doesn't love rolls with...a gratitude twist?! Taza posted this recipe for pumpkin-shaped rolls that include little stems of gratitude on top. All you need is some parchment paper, a pen, and some things for which you are grateful. Easy peasy. My mom and I did a variation of these several years ago on Thanksgiving, but these pumpkin-looking rolls are even cuter and more presh and all that. I will be writing I'm grateful for carbs with a cheesy Thanksgiving theme! Now, eat dem carbs. 

via

four
Drink
This fun time party time idea is brought to you by Freddie. I asked for his help brainstorming ways to make Thanksgiving more fun and this is what he said. The man knows how to party, obvs. So let's say drink some wine. Have some cocktails. Drink some sweet tea or water or Coke. When we were younger we thought it was the coolest thing if on Thanksgiving we drank our Coke from my mom's fancy crystal. Lesson #58 on how to be cool. Live and learn, people.

five

Famalama-ding-dong

ie: Spend time with your family

I know I only live one state and 5 hours away from family, but I will forever and always whine about missing them. Because one state away means not the same state which means I can't just drive over to their house and steal clothes from my sister. I mean...hug my sister. Anytime when we can all get together it makes my heart burst out of my chest, much like the Grinch's heart did when he realized he loved Christmas and the Whos were his lil' famalama. Me and the fam, the Grinch and the Who's, life is going to be really fab this week and I. Can't. Wait.

What are your tricks for some Thanksgiving fun?

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Karli.

and pinterest saw that it was good

Pinterest is a pretty funny thing. I mean, my mind gets absolutely blown away when I see that someone took a tin can and rocks and turned it into a make-up brush holder. So simple! It must be done! Why did I think of that?!

Probably because my brushes staying in my make-up bag which is stored under the sink works out just fine for all parties involed.

However, there are several Pinterest-y things that do blow my mind and that should be recreated for everyone to admire. 

Like these cutesies Thanksgiving placemats that will definitely be on our table. I can hear the groans and sarcastic answers from my family now...I am thankful for Emily who makes us do crazy Thanksgiving games when I just want to be eating.

via

And this idea for storing wrapping paper. Come on it's genius, I tell you. Genius! Overload of Christmas wrapping paper, here I come.

via

And anniversary pictures. I never even thought twice about getting pictures taken as a couple on your anniversary until Pinterest told me it was all the rage. 

I decided I could get on board with that rage. 

 Enter the part of the story when my sister and I made a secret board with all of the ideas and poses we liked for said pictures because Hello! You can't always admit that you have caved and conformed to all of the Pinterest inspired ideas. Secret boards for the win. 

29 pins, 900 please-take-them-this-weekend beggy texts to my sister, 1 30-degree temperature drop, and 9 outfits packed later we had some first anniversary pictures taken by my oh-so-talented sister. 

Thanks, Pinterest for being funny sometimes, but for also being cool sometimes.

Thanks, Ann-y Poo, for being our papa-paprazzi. Lady Gaga style. 

Happy Happy Happy Friday!

Linking up with Amanda.

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!

Giving Some Thanks

Thankgiving. The time of year when most people make long lists of things for which they are thankful. These lists often say things like,

I am so thankful for my loving and supportive family, my amazing friends, the roof over my head, and the delicious meals I am able to cook and share with others.

We have all seen these lists. We have probably even made these lists (Don't deny it). However, this Thanksgiving I wanted to mix things up a bit. Wooooo hoo, wild Emily, I know. I wanted to get deep down into my life and find the obscure things about which I am very, very thankful. Buckle up your Pilgrim shoes and tie on your Indian headdresses because here we go:

1- I am thankful that I have indoor plumbing. Isn't it fantastic? I don't have to go outside in the cold and dark to go to the bathroom. You don't either. We are so lucky.
2- I am thankful that I was born in the South where the summers are filled with magnolia blossoms, the winters are not filled with mountains of snow, and where everybody wants to figure out if they know my family several generations back. I live in a small enough town where this happens almost on a daily basis. Everybody knows Mr. Diddy and Mr. Diddy knows everybody. And now, after reading my blog, everyone will know me.
3- I am thankful that a) I have a sister and b) she was born to keep me amused and entertained. Did you know that 15 year old Ann Elizabeth has her entire wedding planned already? The only thing she is missing: the groom. Her favorite way to spend her day: looking at her wedding app on her Itouch.
4- I am thankful that I take drum lessons because they are better (and cheaper!) than therapy. Also, probably way more fun.
5- I am thankful that my family allows me to steal the space heater every winter and sit with it between my feet until the warm weather decides to come back around. Did I mention I am GREAT at sharing?
6- I am thankful that I have danced on pointe for so long. My feet are so beaten up and used to pain that I think if a piano or anything else large and heavy were to fall on my feet I wouldn't feel pain at all. You only think I'm kidding...   (Let's not test it out, however.)
7- I am thankful that I have a bff who loves Disney as much as I do because when I say I got this ring in Mexico she knows that I am referring to Mexico in Epcot, not the country. Nobody else seems to understand that.
8- On that note, I am thankful that my brother works at Disney and we are able to get in free. Disney is like my second home. I think I may spend an equal amount of time there as I do here in Newnan. (Not really, buuut that's not a bad idea...)
9- I am thankful that I have grown up always having pets (yes, pets with a "s", multiple animals in our household) because this only reassures me that I never want to have pets. Sorry, future children.
10- I am thankful that my third grade teacher taught my class that our signatures needed to have something unique about them so that they would be harder to copy. My name doesn't necessarily look like Emily when I sign it, but hey, it's unique and Miss Powell would be proud.
11- I am thankful I got the following traits from my father: I like my sheets untucked, and I like to eat on a very regular basis.
12- I am thankful I got the following trait from my mother: I am able to multitask.
13- I am thankful that my uncle is a very handy man to have around. Holmes on Homes has got nothing on Uncle John. I hope he realizes that his handiness will not only extend to his sister, but also to me when I get my own home. Did you read this Uncle John??
14- I am thankful that my uncle is a Marine because from going to several of his ceremonies, I have realized that one of my life goals is to re-choreograph formations for the Marines. My idea is genius. That could be a whooole other post.
15- I am thankful that my ancestors had crazy names that I will be able to pass on to my children. Example: Potch, Zella Mae, Pink Pauline. No, I am not kidding. I cannot wait to have a little Zella Mae running around.
16- I am thankful that Christmas is right around the corner (30 days, 8 hours, 30 something minutes to be exact) and people have starting decorating for the sole purpose of keeping me excited and beyond thrilled as I drive around every night and look at their decorations.
17- I am thankful that my family realizes I am serious when I say I seriously dislike the outdoors, therefore they do not take me camping. This one ties in nicely with #1. I will always choose my indoor plumbing and indoorness over anything outdoors. This is partly because chiggers think I am DELICIOUS. Nothing like nom noming on some MLE Moore.
18- I wish I could be thankful that I can sew, but my mother has never taught me. Hint hint. The only thing I can sew is a pair of pointe shoes. That will get me far in life.
19- I am thankful that my mother did not have 19 children. While the Duggars are one of my favorite things about which to talk and watch on t.v., I think I am doing just great with Joseph and Ann. I am sure sometimes I have been such a handful that my parents feel like they have 19 children, but I will only admit that on here.
20- I am thankful for TLC for creating the show Sister Wives which keeps me highly entertained and fascinated. You do not understand, I am obsessed.

So, there's my list. I could keep going and going and going and going...but I will leave that to the Energizer bunny. I have too much cooking that needs to get started to sit here typing all day. Although, I could go ahead and get started on that choreographing for the Marines post...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eat lots. Have fun. Be Safe. Oh, and P.S.-

I AM  thankful for my loving and supportive family, my amazing, friends, the roof over my head, and the delicious meals I am able to cook and share with others.