Wow...It's been a while! But worth the wait, I promise.

So the last 6 months have been a whirl wind! I'm loving my job so far. The girls on the team are absolutely awesome. They all work so incredibly hard, and they deserve a successful season! As of now they are looking great! We are struggling a little on vault, but we can match up with any other team on the other three events...

In other news, drum roll please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Em and I are having a BABY! We couldn't be more excited! We've been trying for some time now, and wanted to wait to make sure everything is fine before making the big announcement. I am just past the twelve week mark, and I'm actually starting to feel a little better! We had an ultrasound last week and we got to see "Baby Dub", which is the peanut's name for now, kicking like crazy on the big screen. It was absolutely the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Up until that point, I wasn't quite sure I was even pregnant. So I was happy to see him/her alive and well, and seemingly annoyed/excited by the ultrasound!

So question for all you experienced mamas out there, when will I start feeling all of this kicking?! I couldn't believe this little two inch being is living inside of me, and I don't feel it! I am quite anxious to feel that first flutter! I'm probably the most nervous, anxious, apprehensive, worry-wart pregnant lady that you'll ever meet. I'll just be so happy to have this baby in my arms! I know we still have a long way to go! By the way, my due date is June 24, 2010.

Once a Sun Devil...Always a Sun Devil...

Hey All,

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I've been busy! I applied and got the job as the new Assistant Women's Gymnastics Coach at ASU...I'm very excited and nervous about the whole thing. I found out last Sunday, and started the next day, haha. I've already been around recruiting at the local gyms, and I will be going to Pennsylvania in a week. Talk about a whirlwind month...

I am incredibly lucky to get this position, and I hope all of you come out to the meets and bring your kids. Let me rephrase that...I better see all of your butts at our home meets or else!!! We need all of the support we can get. It feels nice to have a job, but I still have to finish summer school in my spare time, find floor music for the girls, recruit like crazy, and still be a great wife, yikes!

I think we'll have a better year this year. All of the girls seem incredibly motivated this summer, and they are working really hard. Much harder than I ever worked in the off-season, that's for sure.

Let's all root for a good season, and please wish me luck!

Cow-kids for a weekend...

Em and I had a great time visiting his parents in Dallas this past weekend.  E's dad, Paul, took a job at Southern Methodist University and moved there in January.  His mom, Cyndi, is an art teacher and needed to stay to finish out the  semester, so we still have her here in AZ for the time being.  So we all traveled out there to visit good ole Dallas, Texas.  

Paul is renting a sweet condo/duplex home right next to the SMU football stadium.  We decided that it would be best if we visited next when there was a football game so that we could take advantage of their awesome tailgating area!  We had such a great time.  We are truly going to miss Cyndi when she leaves us, and we already miss Paul everyday.  It was nice to see where they are living so that we can picture it when we talk to them.    Below are a few pics from the weekend...

Me, Cyndi, and Em's Aunt Sandra after getting our make-up done before the Colonial golf tournament...

Out at dinner, Paul and Em decided to try this crazy fire-coffee drink...it tasted like oil to me, but the guys seemed to love it!

Em and I out at lunch at this great italian place...

Em, Paul, and Cyndi at the same Italian place...it was great except that an extremely large black bird tried to take my head off.

I've never seen anyone so ecstatic about a hydrangea bush, haha!

Paul, Uncle Mark, Emerson, Cyndi, Aunt Sandra, Cousin Rory, and me at a great Mexican restaurant called Joe T Garcia's in Fort Worth....DELISH!

School's Out!

Yea!  It's so nice to finally have a vacation!  I am also done working for the summer!  What am I going to do with all of my free time...So far I've watched a couple movies, and finished a few handbags.  

On Mondays I'm going down to Tucson to babysit my adorable nephew.  Last Monday was hilarious because Otto is now starting to go through some sort of separation anxiety and screams and cries when his mommy leaves the room!  It's tough to watch him cry!  Although my mom and I have found that cheering O-T-T-O while I do high kicks keeps him entertained enough to stop crying, but geesh, it was quite exhausting!  But I'm gonna love getting to know the little guy every Monday...I'll leave you with a few pics my precious neph...

Otto and E in their cut-off tanks...hehe.

Jobs, TV's, etc...

Thank you all for your sweet comments after my big disappointment! I truly do feel better about it all. I've already applied for two different research jobs for the summer and maybe next semester. One of my professors has just been SO sweet and supportive. She REALLY doesn't want me to give up. She's the one recommending all of the jobs for me, and putting in a good word.

Emerson's been a sweetheart too. I don't think he knows quite what to do with me and my glum-ness, haha. But he handles me well, and can usually cheer me up. I told him that I was just going to be a shut-in and never leave the house until I can regain some confidence. And he said, "Sweeite (yes I know...long story on the nickname), you can do whatever you want. I just want you to be happy. Go make more purses!". LOL...

And what cheers a girl up better than shopping? NOTHING... Em and I received part of our tax refund and immediately went out and spent all of it on two brand new flatscreen TV's, one for our living room and one for our bedroom. They are awesome, and we got a smokin' good deal! Most of you haven't been to our house and seen the TV's we had before, so you might not know how exciting this is for us! Our other TV that was lent down to us from E's parents (which we were more than grateful for), was about 15 years old and took up most of our living room! It's amazing what a new flatscreen can do for a soul...

Sorry I don't have any pictures of them, maybe I'll take some and post later.

Negative Nancy is making a comeback...

Hi All,

I just thought I'd inform you that I didn't get into an internship. I logged on last night to find the comment..."We regret to inform you that you were not matched into an internship...blah blah blah". So as of now, my negative nancy-ness is back. I'm giving myself a couple of days to 'grieve', if you will, then hopefully positive polly can make a comeback.

I'm trying to tell myself that the last two years were not a waste, but at this point, I feel like that is the case. Where do I go from here? Good question...I have no idea. Do I wait and reapply next year. Doubt it. So my dreams of becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD) seem to be gone with the wind. Also, most of my classmates didn't get an internship either...Really good candidates too! I think the RD world is a worse-off place without us. It's also very hard finishing out the semester knowing that all the hard work didn't pay off.

Sorry for the gloomy post. Check back in a week when Miss Positivity is back...

The latest...

My sister-in-law, Lindsey, sent me this pic on Monday of baby Otto...It was too cute not to post.


In other news...I find out on April 19th at 11:01pm if I got a dietetic internship or not. I have to log on to this website, where it tells me if I've been placed in an internship. I don't think they could make it anymore nerve-racking, right?! I think my finger will be shaking to much to press enter. Since everyone in all of my classes has applied to internships, and everyone finds out at the same time, April 20th at school is going to be SO AWKWARD...


So in life, I've decided that from now on, I'm going to try to be more positive. I've been such a negative Nancy lately, that I'm really starting to bother even myself. I'm posting this mostly as a reminder to myself. I have so much to be greatful for, I have no reason to be glum. God always has a plan...

25 bags...well 22

So many of you know that I make handbags. Well back in November, a lady said that she wanted 25 of them to put on consignment at her showcase. So, I had from November to now to finish 25, no big deal right?!? Wrong...I, of course, put it off until this month. Each bag takes me between 2 and 4 hours each to make! Needless to say, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into these babies. I'm dropping them off to the lady today, but I only finished 22...oh well. It was either 3 short, or losing my sanity...I chose being 3 short. My wonderful mother also had to put in a lot of hard work, since she makes the little jewelry items that go on each purse. I've posted some pics of the purses below (they aren't the best pics because I had to use my cell phone camera, our real camera is MIA)...

All 22 together on my purse rack...

This is one of my favorites...

The floral Katie Hobo bag...

The Giraffe Mini...

The paisely clutch...sorry the pic is small.

The Standard Pink Paisely...

My all time favorite...the Zebra Katie Hobo. I'm half hoping this one doesn't sell so I can keep it. Emerson has a different opinion, LOL, he wants to know when he's gonna get a ROI (return on investment).

The Zebra Mini...

Whatever ones don't sell I will be posting on my etsy account if you happen to want one... www.joeyhandbags.etsy.com

Nephew Pic...

I think this is my favorite pic thus far...Just had to share it!

VEGAS!

As many of you know, I spent the last weekend in VEGAS! And then I got to come back to my Spring Break...quite nice. Except for the fact that it had to end, haha. And I was no where near productive enough!

We had a blast in Vegas though! I met up with Danielle, and two of her friends, Kristen and Amy, from Massachusetts. They all made me want to visit Boston ASAP! In the summer of course, haha. I also had my first experience gambling (not just the slots). And guess what...I won $510 playing roulette! It was awesome, and so easy. Actually, all four us walked away with at least $80. We were LUCKY! I won on my favorite numbers, 1, 3, and 7! Who knew!

This is Dan and I at the Hard Rock, in front of Britney's clothes of course!

Kristen, Dan, and Amy at 'Olives'. Dan's pizza smelled weird...

Me, Kristen, and Danielle at the Bellagio? I think? It was black dress night, can you tell.

Just one more of Dan and I...

What a happy two years...

Hey all,

So Tuesday, March 3rd, was our two year anniversary! I can't believe how fast time flies by...I think the older I get, the more I realize how short life really is. Anywhoo...

So my hubs is on a roll this year! First a surprise on Valentines Day, and then a SPECIAL anniversary geesh! I am truly one lucky girl.

When I got home from class, Em just told me that I needed to be ready to go out to dinner at a nice restaurant. He comes home with a beautiful gerber daisy arrangement, and my favorite wine (Rosa Regales - if you don't like wine very much, which I don't, try this kind, you'll love it!). I thought that was all I was getting, and I was ecstatic about it! I'm usually happy with just a heartfelt card! So we went to dinner at the Yard House (delish! - we'd never been there before). Em called ahead and had a special table reserved, I was head over heels at this point!

Then we got home, and Em told me I had to wait in the car. When I walked inside, he had the top tier of our wedding cake sitting on the table. He called the lady that did our wedding cake, and had her remake the top tier!

For those of you that don't know, I still had our original top tier of our wedding cake in our freezer. And yes, I did move it with us from our old house to our new one. For some reason, I just couldn't throw it away! (Below is a pic of the old cake, haha). So, after we shared a slice of our new cake, I let the original go. But I'm keeping this new one 'til next year!

For my present to Emerson, I wrote him a poem that included songs or lyrics from songs. And then made a matching CD. He did this for me when we first started dating, and I absolutely loved it. So I thought I'd do the same for him. He loved it, or at least he acted like he did :) So all in all, it was such a wonderfully romantic day. Thank you so much baby, you truly know the way into my heart.

In other news, I thought I'd post a pic from this past weekend. We got to spend a little more time with our nephew, baby otto! He is growing so fast, and getting cuter and cuter everyday. He is such a little love muffin! It's extremely hard to be away from him for too long! Sorry the pic is so up close, haha, please ignore my large pores!

25 Interesting Things...

You've all seen these 'Interesting Things' I'm sure...You just list 25 interesting things about yourself. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as you think it's interesting.


1. I worry about EVERYTHING...For example, I'll say something to someone, and then hours later realize that it could've been taken the wrong way. Then I'll sit and worry about that for the next couple of days until my brain finds something else to fret over.

2. I think I've changed a lot in the last couple of years. I used to be this confident, outspoken, funny individual...and now I'm kind of a shy introvert. While many people may think I'm perky, smiley, and happy-go-lucky, I'm actually very cynical and sarcastic, I just hide it well...

3. I am an eternal pessimist. And Emerson is an eternal optimist. I love this about him, he's the pearly white in my black background...

4. I am extremely book smart, but not street smart AT ALL!

5. I believe Emerson is the only one in this world who TRULY knows me.

6. I am obsessed with the Twilight Book series. I'll be in the middle of class day-dreaming about the vampire-werewolf world..."awww, Edward...so dreamy"...see, I'm doing it again, haha.

7. I am embarassed by the amount of TV I watch.

8. I want kids so bad that it hurts.

9. While listening to the radio (or any music for that matter) I immediately start visualizing a choreographed dance to it.

10. I'm doing this instead of writing a 6 page research paper on how increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids can decrease symptoms of depression.

11. I don't think I'll ever get over my public speaking fear, no matter how many presentations I have to give.

12. I'm very intuitive (meaning that I can usually tell what people are thinking, or how they are feeling). A palm-reader once read my palm at a Halloween Party and told me that I had a "sixth sense" about me. She said that my great ancestor was probably a witch...eerie huh!

13. I believe that real TRUE friends are incredibly hard to find. The older I get, the more I realize how important the TRUE ones really are.

14. I miss swinging giants, doing blind-changes, stalders, and double front dismounts on bars. At night I'll have dreams that I'm doing a double-front half-out off of bars, and it's awesome. I think I could still do it if I tried :) And if I got the chance, I bet I'd be a good vaulter now...not really, but a girl can dream right?!

15. I never dream about doing beam or floor.

16. I wish we lived closer to my nephew...I think about him everyday.

17. I'm more religious than people think I am.

18. I don't work as hard as I should at my job, and while I feel constantly guilty about it, I don't change my behavior.

19. I hate disappointing people and I hate when people disappoint me.

20. Joey (my doggie) and I are extremely connected mentally. And I'm positive that he has a human soul in that little weiner body of his...

21. If I could go back in time and start my education over, I would be a zoologist, with a specialty in elephants...

22. I say the line, "that's what she said" in my head all day long, or sometimes under my breath.

23. I cannot STAND flaky people...If you say you're going to do something or be somewhere, just do it!

24. Even though I'm going to be a dietitian here soon, I still don't eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day...I don't think that's even possible.

25. No matter what kind of day I'm having, shopping ALWAYS makes me feel better...

Joey's Valentine's Surprise...

As many of you know, our 2nd anniversary is March 3rd. So for Valentine's Day, we decided to not do anything for eachother because we wanted to spend money for our anniversary. So on Saturday morning I obviously wasn't expecting anything...I wake up to the sound of Joey crying downstairs, and I hear Emerson saying "SHHHH....", haha. So I was about to get up when Joey jumped onto our bed with a little box tied onto his collar.

The box was a little big for Joey to drag up the stairs, but isn't he adorable, haha! Emerson knows the way to my heart is through that little doggie. I first opened the card from Emo and it was so sweet (I'll spare you all the mushy details LOL). And then I opened Joey's box, and it was a beautiful necklace from Shane Co. (where our rings are from). The necklace is from the "Journey Collection", which is so fitting for us right now...and that just made me cry more.

My brother, Robbie, also pointed out that it's an infinity symbol in the Math world of his brain...I thought that was fitting too. So later in the day, we were going down to Tucson to cook dinner for Rob, Lindsey, and baby O. While at the grocery store, I just couldn't keep my emotions in check because of the wonderful morning I had had. I started to cry at the store because there were so many Dads and husbands at the store getting items to cook for their wives. I just sat there thinking to myself, wow, these boys really DO love us women.

Anyway, it was a special Valentine's day! I also loved getting to know my nephew a little more too! Sorry I completely forgot to take pics down in Tucson, I'll be sure to post some pics of BIG O soon...

CORE Appreciation Dinner

Saturday night was the annual CORE Appreciation Dinner for Em's work. This year it was at the Phoenix Zoo, which was cool, except for the fact that the only animal we saw was a GIGANTIC vulture...yikes! I tried to sneak over to the elephants, but we got caught by the zoo ranger, haha.

Anyway, it was a really fun night. It's always great to hear Em's boss talk so highly of him. The president of the company said that the Memorial Union job was the hardest project that he's ever seen. Of course Em was the main Project Manager on this job! What an accomplishment for such a young guy! I'm so proud of him! Here's a picture from the night...sorry it's so close up, but we took it while driving, haha!!

Internship Applications--arghh...

Well I don't know how many of you know, but I am in school studying to be a Registered Dietitian. This entails many things...

1 - Basically get another undergrad degree in Dietetics (or fulfill the Dietetic coursework, which is one class short of another bachelors)

• I will be done with this in May, well actually July because I have two online classes that I've been saving.

2 - Finish a 10-month (full-time) unpaid dietetic internship.

• This proves to be quite difficult, since there is only one qualified internship in Phoenix (two in Tucson) and the one in Phoenix only accepts 4 people. So needless to say, my chances are not great. Especially since they look at experience. The only thing I have going for me is my GPA. But I have to stand out as one of 4 in over 200-300 applicants.

3 - Pass the RD exam.

Applications are due by February 17th. This has become the greater stressor in my life right now! So you ask, what am I going to do if I don't get in...Good question. I'm hoping to get a job in the Dietetics field, and work for a year, and then apply again with more experience. Who knew that becoming an RD was so difficult. It's not like it pays a lot (I definitely made more as an accountant)!

On a happier note, I am posting some pictures below of last weekend. The first one is our friend Josh and his new girlfriend, Jen (who I extremely liked! Josh is SOO much better behaved with a gf around, haha!)

This is Em driving to the FBR, I couldn't take any pictures of the FBR because you cannot take your phone or camera inside. Although Em snuck his inside in his shoe. But looking back, he probably shouldn't have considering I dropped it in my beer, whoops!!

Doesn't he look cute in his sweater vest...

So how have I done so far...

Well, you will all be proud to know that I have already worked out twice this week! Yea! And I've also decided to switch gyms from 24hour to Coyotes Athletic Center. The Coyotes place is LITERALLY a block from our house, so I think I'll use it more. Em will continue to work out at 24 because it's closer to his work. We don't really see eachother while working out anyways, I only like to spend 30-40 minutes there, and he could spend ALL day there. So then I just get annoyed and end up stretching for 30 minutes, haha. I'm really good at stretching!!

As a side note, I didn't realize how out of shape I really was! I was only lifting 10lb dumbells and I could feel it by the 10th rep! Then I tried to do some pull-ups (I was going overboard at this point, yes...) and I could only do 3. Let's put this in perspective. In high school, I once did over 50 pull-ups in a contest to win an ARMY t-shirt...haha. Wow, I was such a beef-cake.

FBR Open 16th Hole...

So if you've not taken the opportunity to attend the FBR Open, take a minute and add it to your 'Bucket List'...

Kari and I have been to the Open the past few years... I typically get the great opportunity to sit in the Box seats during the week and then on Saturday we go with large group of friends and sit in the Grass by the 16th Green. It is a sight to be seen, thousands of people mostly our age drinking Bloody Mary's in the morning and Beer all day... Booing incessantly if the Golfer doesn't make the Green.

I was there yesterday at the 16th Box Terrace, I saw 4 Golfers chip in off the green... The Crowd goes wicked nuts...

There is a great tradition, if the Golfer doesn't do well of tossing his ball into the Crowd... The Crowd immediately chants "Throw it Back... Throw it Back...", then the Fan Lucky enough to catch the Golf Ball complies. Actually this happened to a friend of ours. The quietest individual, Chad Zaabadich, on the planet was yelled at by a thousand people... He of course complied. Then Security tried to come and have him kicked out, then the Crowd started to Chant, "Let him Stay, Let Him Stay..." I can say it was one of the most HILARIOUS days! Adam Merino came into town for the Super Bowl so we took him to the FBR... Matt... I guess I shouldn't tell the Matt stories... Too embarrassing for him.

Anyways... this year the TPC (a.k.a - AJ's Evil Work), has completely enclosed the 16th Hole, which limits the number of drunk people booing, cheering, chanting, booing, etc. also means we will be forced to arrive extra early to get seats... See below photo.

I think we will still have fun though... It's an activity I hope Kari and I get to do every year for the rest of our lives... Or at least or lives in AZ...

-EMO

Working Out...Motivation please?

Well, I decided yesterday that I'm going to start getting my butt to the gym again. I actually miss working out. I took all Christmas Break off but I now feel ready! I want to get in the habit before I get too far in to the semester so that it becomes routine for me.

So I hate cardio. But if I have something to do while cardio-ing I can usually stick it out. Therefore, I decided that first, I will finish reading "Eclipse" (the third book from the Twilight series).

I have to promise to read this instead of a text book because I believe that will help get me to the gym. I know what you're thinking...how are you going to read while cardio-ing. But, I never said I was going to push myself real hard. Getting to the gym is the first step, lol.

By telling all of you, I'll feel an obligation to workout. Goal for the next couple weeks is to get to the gym at least 2 days a week. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm not training for a marathon here people, I'm just trying to stay healthy!

Really...Really???

I don't know how many of you watch Saturday Night Live still, but Em and I do when we're home on a Saturday night...Yes I know that's lame, haha. Anyway, they do a segment called, "Really....Really?" Here is my "Really...Really?" segment from last week.

So Danielle and I walk out of the house to jump in our car and leave to go shopping. There is a white minivan parked directly blocking my driveway.

Let me make the point that there WERE other places to park that would not block a person's driveway. I look at Dan and I say, "REALLY?...REALLY?". As many of you know, we live very close to the "tot lot" or playground for you lamens. So I walk over to the tot lot, and ask..."Does somebody here drive a white minivan?". A ditsy lady walks over to me and says "Yes, why, did I block you in???". Uhhh, yea... So she obviously knew that she parked the way she did. Or as Danielle put it, maybe it always happens to her, haha.

Once again, I say...Really? Really crazy hairbrained lady...

Feel free to post any "Really!?!" moments you have experienced.

A weekend with our BOSTON friend...

So the last weekend of my break was a blast. Danielle came to town Thursday night, and we went to Four Peaks for dinner...sweet! Then Friday we spent the day at the White Lotus Spa getting a facial and a massage. SO RELAXING. Except I had a monster zit on my face that the lady spent most of facial working on, haha! That night we went to the gymnastics meet, where the ASU girls bombed floor...that sucked.

So Friday night, Dan, Em, and I went to a bar called Rula Bula in Tempe. There was a great live band and a lot of dancing...well I was dancing at least (by myself on the dance floor). It was rather embarassing.

All in all, we had a great time. The pics are from last night at Cantina Laredo.

Dan with her delish margarita! You can't get those in Massachusetts!

Luckily you can't really see my zit (which I named Jenny) in this pic haha.

Meet my nephew Baby Otto

I'll start out with the cutest pic ever...This is Otto impersonating his Uncle Emerson.

Emerson always wears his beanie a little over his eyes, and he flashes the "sun devil fork" in every picture. So I thought this picture was perfect!

The Ward FAM!

Well I decided to start a family blog, even if it is just Emerson and me! Hopefully I'll have enough to write about! I just love reading everybody elses blogs so much that I thought I should start one of my own.

So here it goes...Today I am so excited because one of my best friends is coming to town! You all remember Danielle! My roommate from college, when we lived in the horrendous Erie house, haha. Wow, that house was such a mess! But it was some of the best times I've ever had...And a lot of that was due to Dan!

This is a pic of Dan in my wedding.