Emily Marie is Me

ME THIS MONTH I have really enjoyed October! It's just felt way more chill than the past few months. I, and we as a couple, have been managing stressful times better as a whole and it's so awesome. I did have a very stressful and full week of optimizing photos every day/night, but I even got through that fairly in tact! There are a lot of things I want to touch on from this month, but I don't have a ton of time to write it all out in paragraphs and what-not. So I'm just going to write a bulleted list and get the best of both worlds - all the info, not as much writing. Enjoy :) Still doing AIP (5 months!) and I've even been trying to eat less desserts this month. I think the less-stress has been helping me the most with that last part because when I get stressed, I want desserts. We've been sticking to a budget for groceries and things, and it's been really nice. Although, I did spontaneously buy a like-new tv stand for $75 at a yard sale...I have ser

ME THIS MONTH This month was a good combo of work and relaxing. I feel like I got to spend time with friends and family, but also with myself. I didn't have as much work, or the work I did have had more chill deadlines. I'm interested to see how October goes work-wise. I don't feel like I have much to report. I've been feeling pretty good, even though I still have a specific health issue I'm figuring out. I've been less stressed, which has been awesome. And I've been trying to organize all my stuff from school/growing up/etc. I just really want to declutter everything, get new decorations, and actually know how to make my house look nice and organized. I honestly don't know what else to say and I want to get this done, so I'll end here. I hope I have something more exciting to talk about in the next update! Excited :  for General Conference this weekend! We're not going to St George like we had wanted, but we'll still be spending ti

81. Fry 3 different foods in oil (9/13/2018) This goal was originally to "deep fry something at home." But I fried something in oil and realized that "deep frying" would take way more oil than I'm willing to use, so I decided to change this one. I think frying things in oil is such an interesting way to cook and the crispiness that comes from it is one of my favorite things. I decided to do a few different types of foods, so I could see how different things respond to frying. And I figured if I did more than one thing that I could learn some tricks along the way :) Side note: All of the things I've done have been within my AIP diet, so I've used coconut oil or avocado oil, and cassava flour. And no eggs. A little harder to work with, but a little healthier and still pretty good :) 1. Beef Empandas  Forgot to take a picture of the after and during frying...but here's the before! I had some issues with these. The meat was already cooked, but t

15. For one year go to the temple once a month (8/25/2018) This was a wonderful goal to accomplish and I just love the temple. I know that going to the temple, even without doing ordinances, has helped me to get through this past year that has been incredibly hard for me. I plan to continue going monthly, or at least every other month from now on. Here are all the times I went to the temple this past year! I took these excerpts directly from the Me Monthly updates they were featured in :) 1. August 2017 Jonathan and I went to the temple on the 19th and did a session. I'm hoping this can be the start of this goal. It had been way too long since we had been to the temple and I really want, and NEED, to go more. 2. September 2017 In September I went with Amanda to do initiatory! Two months down, 10 to go! 3. October 2017 This month was a little different - we went and helped clean the temple! I got to vacuum some sealing rooms, one of the veils and half of the celestia

17. Lose 3 inches off my current waist measurement (8/20/2018) This goal was made with the intent to not focus on my weight (as in the number haha). I wasn't healthy or feeling/looking how I wanted to, and had always only looked to my weight. It was never "where I wanted it to be", but I know that weight is dependent on a lot of things. I had never tried keeping track of my measurements before and wanted to see if there really were big changes. I took my measurements at the start of my list, and planned to exercise a ton and check them again. Well, the exercising never really happened and I was so sure I was actually going up in inches instead that I never checked on them again. And then I kind of forgot about it... Then I started doing AIP and started noticing that my clothes were starting to fit better! I finally remembered this goal and figured I would check my measurements. I measured more than just my waist, and I'm glad I did! It was cool to see how many are

7. Watch or do glass blowing (8/3/2018) You guyyyyyys. THIS WAS SO COOL. Technically it was very hot, but you know what I mean ;) I've always thought glass blowing was awesome and that it would be amazing to actually see it in person. I've watched SO MANY videos. But I actually got to do it! What I actually did was pretty simple, but it was still so neat to be able to help make something out of molten glass. Like what!? Quick back story: Mad Mac (food truck from Provo that I LOVED) moved to Boise, and opened a store-front, so I REALLY wanted to go there. Then, Death Cab for Cutie, one of my favorite bands and the last one I really wanted to see live, was doing a show in Boise!! (I couldn't get tickets to the SLC show.) And before all of this, the lovely Sara had told me about Boise Art Glass where you could actually DO glass blowing, which was one of the inspirations for this goal. Add all three things together? It was the perfect storm for a perfect trip! W

ME THIS MONTH The beginning of August was great (thank you Boise trip) but the last few weeks felt like non-stop work. And then there was lots of emotional/mental stress on top of that. I don't really want to talk about it, but it all kind of sucked. I felt like I've just been in survival mode. I'm still doing AIP, and I've been feeling really good lately. If I got better sleep and had less stress I'm pretty sure I would feel absolutely fantastic. Also, everyone has started to notice that I've lost weight and it's kind of weird/cool, because I've never experienced that before and even people who I barely talk to at church have noticed. That's not what this diet was about, but it just goes to show that the way you eat really affects the way you feel AND the way you look. I hope I can keep being healthy for a long time. But once I reintroduce things, I probably will splurge at least once a month or on holidays or whatever. A mish-mash of though

ME THIS MONTH I was planning to post this a few days ago, but our week got crazy so that didn't work out! So here we are, almost a week late, but still here! And with different content...I need to remember to write these in advance, but not too far in advance or I basically have to write them twice! Another reason I didn't get to post when I wanted was that we were in Boise for the weekend! For about a year, I have jokingly wanted to plan a trip up there because a food truck I love moved there and opened a restaurant. Then, Sara told me about a glass blowing place in Boise where you can make things (see list item #7!!), so I really wanted to go. Then! Death Cab for Cutie, one of my favorite bands and the last one I really care to see live, was going to be playing there! I had tried to get tickets to their concert the day before in SLC but it sold out in minutes...all the better for me though! We got tickets for the concert, planned to go to a glass blowing class, and I t

ME THIS MONTH These past few months have been Alexander Hamilton after the Revolutionary War: NON-STOP. I just feel like we have had so many things going on - way more than we're used to or want to handle. We've spent a lot of time with friends and family (which is great!) but it tires us out and it's hard to keep it up, especially with work and child and this diet I've been on. If we slightly become hermits this month, it's not you, it's us. We've also had some personal health issues to deal with, some people we love move far away, and some seriously sassy two-year old attitude. We're just tired. I just want this month to be calmer. Sorry this is starting out with so many complaints. I'm just really starting to feel all of it and I'm trying to be healthier, so the not feeling top-notch isn't cool. Anyway! Some good things - I have a trip to look forward to at the end of this month! We're going to Boise to eat mac and cheese, listen

77. Shoot an arrow (6/11/2018) I had to ask, but I got to shoot some arrows while at Day Camp with the Webelos! :) It was harder than I thought it would be and I wasn't very good - but I did get one into the 3rd ring closest to the bullseye! It was really fun though and I would love to do it again! (Ignore my form in the photos, it's probably awful haha)

44. Exercise 4 days/week for a month (5/26/2018) I have always had a hard time sticking to an exercise routine. My main issue was always trying to find the right time to exercise - because I'm kind of particular. I want to exercise on an empty stomach and at a time where I can reasonably take a shower afterwards. So my choices are in the morning or right before bed. Aaaaaand I didn't want to do it right before bed because I don't always like taking a shower at night. So obviously my only choice (personally) was to exercise in the morning, and preferably before Daisy woke up. I know this all sounds really picky, and it probably is, but once I made up my mind I decided to not think about it anymore and just DO IT. I needed to make it a habit and not stuck in my head! So I set my alarm for 7 AM every morning and slowly increased my workout intensity throughout the month. I did 20-minute pilates and yoga videos for the first two weeks, and then the last two weeks I tried to

ME THIS MONTH Oh look, I'm a week late! First time in almost a year of doing this, so I'll let it pass. If you read the last sentence of my last monthly update....yes. I did jinx myself. May was SO BUSY. It was mostly a good busy - we spent a LOT of time with friends and family, as the wonderful Sara and Garrett moved and we needed to stock up on good times!! Also my in-laws are moving (next week!) and we've been trying to be with them as much as possible too. The bad busy: I also procrastinated work (and just worked slowly/got too distracted) so I always had stuff to do. The other big thing - I started an elimination diet on the 1st called the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) to see if it will help me heal my gut and manage my UC symptoms! I'll be doing it strictly for 30, 45, or 60 days and then start adding things back in to see how they affect me and what I should keep out. Currently I can't have: dairy, nuts, seeds, eggs, grains, nightshades, refined sugars, a

ME THIS MONTH For all the folks following along - I got my colonoscopy. It was QUITE the experience. The week of was probably one of the worst weeks we've ever had at our house. Daisy had a cold, none of us really got any sleep (I'm pretty sure I got maybe 10 hours in 3 days) , and it seemed like everything was going wrong. During my colonoscopy prep - all liquid diet, then a gallon of laxative the night before - I threw up. That laxative stuff is one of the nastiest things I have ever tasted. Because I threw it up, I couldn't get my colonoscopy the next day and had to do an extra day of prep. Luckily they let me do a laxative with Gatorade instead. It obviously tasted way better, but I threw that up too :( I was so worried I wouldn't get to have it done and that I would have to do this all over again. (Imagine that, hoping you're ready for a colonoscopy.) Luckily the next morning I kept the other half of the prep down and when I got to the hospital they said