Emily After Dark

30 Day Photo Challenge Day 27: After Dark

I gotta tell you guys, after dark is when I really let loose.

I get home from work.  I kick off my shoes.  I hang up my coat.  I slip off my work clothes and on come the pajamas!

I open a Caffeine Free Diet Coke, plug in my laptop, and turn on Gilmore Girls.  I crawl into bed, and pretty soon the silly faces start.

The sleepier I get, the sillier the faces get

I browse Pinterest and read blogs and eat Sweet Tarts candy canes.  

And then, when this episode of Gilmore Girls is over, I'll play Zelda: Twilight Princess for a while (speaking of, does anyone know where I can find a fishing pole?) watch some Whose Line Is It Anyway?, say my prayers, and drift into a peaceful sleep where I'll dream about the McDonald's cheeseburger that I plan to eat for dinner tomorrow. Mmm...Cheeseburger....

I am really enjoying this "No school" thing.  No stress, no anxiety.  Just me, my comfy bed, and all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls.  And Zelda. And Pinterest.  And some of that leftover cheesecake from Ruth's Chris.  Tonight is my last chance for a night like this for a while and I am loving every minute of it.  Some people need wild parties and bars to keep them entertained.  Not me.  Just give me a pair of pajamas and an evening by myself.  I'll be happier than a bunny with a carrot.  

And because last nights post was a bit heavy, I am going to leave you with a meaningless little survey:

Who will you be sleeping with tonight? 

Lots of pillows.

What are you going to do tomorrow?

Work and (if I'm really good) McDonalds.

When do you plan on having kids or your next kid? 

I've always wanted to be a young mom, so I was hoping in my 20s, maybe around 27?  But that's not looking very likely.

Do you know a secret about your last ex that would embarrass them? 

I don't think so.  He never seemed to get embarrassed.  That was something I really admired about him. Still do.  It doesn't take much to make me blush.

Can you use chopsticks? 

Well enough to eat sushi without looking like a total goon.

How old were you when you lost your first tooth? 

7 or 8-ish?  I really don't remember.

Were you a hyper or mellow kid?

I've always been pretty mellow.

Why did you throw up last? 

Because my stomach made me.

What are you excited for? 

Callbacks for Almost, Maine on Thursday night.  I love any bit of theater I can get.

What's for dinner? 

Tonight, I had a turkey wrap from Jason's Deli, same thing I had last night.  The woman at the register remembered my order and everything.  It was kind of embarrassing.

Ever been to the Statue of Liberty? 

I have been on the Staten Island Ferry which gives you a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

How many e-mail addresses do you have? 

Two. One just for school, another that I made in 8th grade that embarrasses me every time I have to give it to the woman at the Ann Taylor Loft register.

Do you HAVE to have brand name stuff?

I try to buy generic most of the time (but I will buy name brand if it truly is a better product).

Do you like Oreos?

I adore oreos.

What was the last ice cream flavor you ate? 

Vanilla with Chocolate Syrup from Jason's.  I love vanilla ice cream :)

What color is your car? 

Pearl White.

Got a boyfriend?

I don't like this question.

How many siblings do you have?

1.

Ever been abused?

Never.

Are you on drugs?

Never.

Do you know anyone on drugs?

Not that I'm aware of.

How many kids do you want?

Two.

Were is your home town?

Baton Rouge. 

Ever had something serious happen to you or a close friend?

Yes.

Do you get along with your extended family?

For the most part, yes.

How many cousins do you have?

Four.

Who are you closer to your mom or dad?

Equally close to both.

Are your parents married?

Yes.

Do you have step parents?

Nope.

Name 5 people that mean the world to you?

I have to choose only 5?! I can't do that. 

Mom, Dad, Brother, Grandfather, a few friends, and a person I can't have anymore.

Name one person you could never live without?

"I've pretty much promised God I'll choose to live no matter who I do or do not have.."

I really like the answer that my friend who took this before me put, so I'm copying her :) 

Favorite color?

Purple.

Do you have an ipod?

I do.  It's purple :)

Do you have a phone?

Permanently attached to my hand.

If so who was your last text message from?

Dad.

Has anyone close to you ever died?

Yes.

Have you ever been dumped?

I DON'T LIKE THIS QUESTION.

Have you ever dumped someone?

No. (Note: There is a big difference between breaking up with someone and dumping them.  Breaking up implies that respect was shown.)

Have you ever seen someone just before they died?

Yes.

If you could go anywhere right now were would it be and who would you take?

Does the person have to be willing?  And would we have to pay to get into Disney World?

If you could change anything right now what would it be?

I think I've made this pretty obvious on my blog for the past 8 weeks.

Have you ever cried because you were laughing so hard?

Several times.  I haven't in a while though.

Have you ever cried because you were sad and not because you hurt yourself?

Yes. A lot.  I'm learning that it's ok to cry even when everyone else thinks it's time to stop.

How old will you be this year?

Turned 20 this year.  Next year will be the big 2-1. Yay?

Bah, Humbug!

I am the definition of Scrooge this Christmas.  Seriously, take a minute and look it up in your dictionary and you'll find my name there.  I'll wait.

....See? I wasn't kidding.

The closer and closer that Christmas gets this year, the more I wish I could just skip it.  For the first time ever, I actually have an anti-Christmas spirit. I'd rather just pretend it doesn't exist.  I'm not excited about Christmas shopping.  I'm not eagerly anticipating opening presents on Christmas morning.  Christmas Carols put me in an awful mood.  I don't have warm fuzzy visions of watching A Christmas Story around the fire.  In fact, I haven't watched any Christmas movies at all this year.  In past years, I have been known to start the Christmas movies in August.  Even The Polar Express, which is my absolute favorite Christmas movie and one of my favorite movies in general, is collecting dust on my shelf.  I just can't make myself care this year.

Christmas is such supposed to be such a happy, joyous time.  And honestly, I am not happy.  I am going through a really difficult, stressful, painful, sad time right now, and I still have a long ways to go.  Christmas seems to just exacerbate all of that unhappiness.  I have a wonderful, loving family and more incredible, supportive friends than I deserve.  Despite that, I'm very lonely right now.  I'm still deep in grief over the loss of someone that meant the world to me.  I still feel like a huge chunk of me is missing (apparently, the chunk of me that was Christmas crazy). There's only 1 thing that I really want right now.  And it's not going to happen.  Christmas spirit just feels so wrong and out of place right now.  I almost wish I could just crawl into bed and say, "Wake me up on January 2nd.  Save me a slice of Honey Baked Ham."

I'm finding little ways to help me through this.  I have a tree up in my apartment.  I'm doing Christmas shopping on the internet instead of going to the mall. But mainly, I'm praying.   I've never been a person of super mondo strong faith.  It was definitely there, but not something I've ever really been comfortable talking about with others.  For me, my faith is a very personal "me" thing. Then it kind of fell to the wayside when I started high school.  But for the past 6 weeks or so, I've been praying.  I pray every night before I go to sleep.  I thank God for all that I've been blessed with and that I'm thankful for, and then I pour out everything I'm feeling.  Sometimes, I can remain calm.  Sometimes, I lose all composure it turns into a bunch of garbled Whys and Pleases and "What do you want for me?"s.  Sometimes, I pray and cry until I fall asleep. Sometimes, I just sit there and cry.   But whenever I'm done, I always feel a profound sense of calm and release.  I don't feel quite so lonely.  I feel hope that things will be resolved. I feel loved.  And sometimes, I even feel like maybe that Christmas spirit isn't quite so unattainable.

Sometimes, we can be the pig of happiness.  Sometimes, we really need a pig of happiness.

Santa Claws is Coming to Town

I've been having a lot of trouble getting in the Christmas Spirit this year.

But this certainly helps:



Animals are awesome.

And this "secret" from the PostSecret app makes me giggle.

She's Back!

Hello interwebz!  After a busy week, I am back and blogging!

My finals schedule was rough this year.  I had one on Wednesday, THREE on Thursday, and one today. Luckily, the highest grade I needed to make on any of the finals was and 82. I've gotten 2 grades back so far....A's!  Woohoo!


To keep myself sane this week, I baked and made cake pops!  The process is such that I could spread it out over the course of the week.  I would explain it to you, but every time I make them people go so nuts over them that I like to "keep it a secret recipe" (even though all you have to do is google "How to make cake pops" to learn how to make them...but you didn't hear that from me).  I've made cake balls before and have really been wanting to try to make them as pops, but haven't really had an excuse to make them until now! Tonight was the opening night of A Christmas Carol at Baton Rouge Little Theater!  I'm not going to get a chance to go see the show, which I feel guilty about because I know and love several people involved in it.  So I decided to make up some cake pops to send over as an opening night treat!  I thought the "pops" part would also be better for a theater group because they would be less messy to eat than cake balls (less risk for chocolate on costumes).  I think they turned out really great!  I hope the cast/crew/creative team enjoyed them!

 I wrapped an old box in some Christmas wrapping paper to make a more festive container :)

I'm so happy with how they turned out! And I got to see a couple of friends that I hadn't seen in a long time when I delivered them tonight, which was a great plus!

I als0 got a chance to celebrate the end of finals with my family tonight!  My grandfather's birthday was in October and my parent's promised him a steak dinner for it!  But schedules are hectic and life is crazy and we didn't get a chance.  So tonight, my parents, my grandfather and I went out for an end of finals/Birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House! Yum!  And it was a great excuse to dress up!

We started off with crab stuffed mushrooms:

The for the main course I had the Top Sirloin with a baked potato:

And then I finished off with cheesecake, the leftovers of which are waiting for me in my fridge!  That will be a nice treat for tomorrow :)

I'm a cheesecake purist.  Don't put anything on it! Just give it to me plain! 

It was a fantastic dinner!  Everyone deserves a Ruth's Chris dinner every now and then!

So what's up next for me now that this semester is over?  Well, this weekend I am excited about getting a manicure (I really need one), getting some laundry done (I'm running out of clean underwear) , going shoe shopping (Hooray for DSW Rewards Certificates!) and getting started on playing Zelda: Twilight Princess (It's been sitting on my shelf mocking me for over a week)! I'll also try to pick up the 30 Day Photo Challenge again tomorrow.  And then on Sunday, I have auditions for Almost, Maine at Baton Rouge Little Theater, which I'm both really excited and really nervous about!  I haven't done any theater in about a year, so I'm excited to do any sort of acting, even an audition!  But I'm also nervous because I haven't done it for so long and I really want to do this show!  Fingers crossed that it goes well!

It feels so good to have this semester and finals over and done with!  It feels so great to be able to go to bed without any school work hanging over my head!

Speaking of going to bed...I think it's time for me to say goodnight! So....Goodnight!

When Finals are Over...

When Finals are Over...

...I can watch lots of Gilmore Girls.

...I can sleep in.

...I can try to crochet again.

...This feeling of imminent doom will go away.

...I can start watching Modern Family.

...I can focus on auditions for Almost Maine.

...I can do Christmas shopping.

...I can work out.  Or at least think about working out.

...I can spend time on Pinterest without thinking about all of the schoolwork I have to do.

...I can get a manicure.

...I can get my hair cut.

...I can blog on a daily/regular basis again.

...I can catch up on the 30 Day Photo Challenge.

...I can do my laundry.

...I can read all of the books I've waiting all semester to read.

...I can play Zelda: Twilight Princess.

...I can relax again.

...I can drink caffeine again.

...I can stop studying.

Finals have consumed my life, mind and focus, so blogging is going to be a little sparse this week.  But to tide you over until Friday, I leave you with this:

 I can be silly when I'm avoiding schoolwork.

So silly...

When finals are over, I will give this blog and my readers the attention they deserve.  I'll be back Friday (at the latest)!  To my student readers: Good luck with finals!  To my non-student readers: Have a fantastic week!  

Later, taters! 

Peeq A Boo!

Look what came in the mail today!

These are wineglasses with the bottoms covered in slate so that you can write on them with chalk!  So cute! They're made by the company Chalkboard China. The retail value is $32 for both of them, but I got them for $5.  How did I get such discount?  One word: SneakPeeq.

I discovered SneakPeeq last July. It's a flashsale site.  Everyday, SneakPeeq posts new stores.  Store sales generally last  about 3 days and range from homegoods to food to clothes to purses to whatever you can imagine!  They generally try to feature lesser known pruducts and companies.  In order to see the price of a product, you have to "peeq" at it. You can only peeq a certain number of times per day, but the more you peeq, the more peeqs per day you get and the more "badges" you get.  Badges give you discounts.  Discounts give you deals—deals like $32 wine glasses for $5!

Take a look at all of the discount badges I've learned!

I don't buy on SneakPeeq incredibly often, but I stop by and check out the new stores everyday.  There's always a ton of really cute stuff!  I've loved all of things I have bought (and it's all been under $15)!

My first purchase was this adorable Crow Watch! 12 Bucks!

Lunchskins followed quickly after!  They're cute little reusable bags that you can use in place of ziploc bags.  I got this one and a smaller blue polka dot one! $4.22 :)

The Tickled Pink scarf I got next is one of my favorites now! $9.91!

It does take a while to get your items after you order them because they don't ship items out until after the sale is over and they have all of the orders in, but it's always worth the wait. 

So, that's the gist of SneakPeeq!  It's shopping, it's a game and the sales are great! I love it.  You should too :)

Day 26: Something Old

I know I still owe you guys Day 25, but sun was not happening in Baton Rouge today.  I promise as soon as the sun comes back and I actually remember to take a picture, you will get Day 25.

This is Teddy.  My Mummum and PaPaw gave my Teddy on the day I was born 20 years ago.  Rumor has it that he used to be shiny and fluffy, but I don't believe it.  His eyes are hidden behind his fur and  I've only ever known him as flattened from using him as a pillow.  In fact, I still use him as a pillow because one pillow is not enough and two pillows are too much.  One pillow plus Teddy is perfect and my neck and I are not ashamed to admit it.

After I grew out of the shirt I'm wearing in this picture, Teddy wore it. :)

Friday Night's Alright for Vegging

I have finished my classes for the semester.  One week and I'll be halfway done with undergrad (hooray for high school credits!)!  Remember when I blogged about dead week a few days ago?  Funny thing.  This past dead week was the most low-stress one I've had yet.  It has also left me the most "dead."    So dead that I completely forgot to take a picture of a sun-flare for the 30 Day Photo Challenge.  I was too busy focusing on staying awake while walking.  Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot...

My intentions when I got home from school around 3:45 were to throw on some PJs, watch Gilmore Girls, do some laundry and eventually go to the store to get more ingredients for crack dip (Because I am having withdrawals).  Instead, I put on my pajamas, watched about 10 minutes of Gilmore Girls, and apparently fell dead asleep because suddenly it was 6:45 and I was waking up wondering where I was and how I got there (Don't you love those naps?).  I think I would have gladly stayed in bed in that "What?" state for the rest of the evening but I had to pee (I know, lovely blog topic. My brain still hasn't really flipped from nap mode to writing-for-all-the-interwebz-to-see mode).

Does anyone else ever feel sick after a really good nap?  I had a post nap headache and my tummy and sense of balance were not pleased about having been woken up.  Thank goodness for funny looking gel eye masks that you can keep in the fridge.  They make you look ridiculous but they do wonders on a headache.

Headaches make me loopy.

Oh, look.  There is a face under that mask...

This post nap haze made laundry doing a bit dangerous.  Too much risk of accidentally washing red and whites together and pink is just not my color.  And if laundry is dangerous, driving to the grocery store is definitely out of the question.  Which really only leaves one viable option: Jimmy Johns. Never mind the fact that I had Jimmy John's for dinner last night  and that I really should be saving money for Christmas present instead of sandwiches.

If you haven't had Jimmy John's, I pity you.  And think that you should find your nearest Jimmy Johns and digest the delicious glory.  I would definitely recommend the Turkey Tom.  Extra Mayo. YUM.  And the best part is that they bring this deliciousness right to your doorstep, so you don't even have to put on real people clothes or brush your hair.  Yes, ladies and gents, I answered the door looking like this: 

Poor, unsuspecting delivery guy.  Don't worry, he got a good tip.

At least I took the mask off.

And within 30 seconds, I looked like this:

And shortly after, I looked like this because I was done with my sandwich:

So there you have it.  My Friday night.  And it has been absolutely perfect.  Nights out with friends and family are always fun.  But at the end of a long week, there's really nothing better than spending an evening alone wearing pajamas, watching TV, eating Jimmy John's and vegging in a post-nap haze.  And Pinterest.  It's really not a properl veg night without Pinterest. :)

And now, I plan to spend the rest of my night watching Gilmore Girls and debating whether or not I should eat this blowpop.  And then I will top off the night by going to bed early.  I know, you're so jealous :)

Goodnight, all :)