The Amazing Ben!!

Wow, three posts in three days.

Tonight I want to brag on my brother, Ben. The boy has more talent than he will ever realize and this is just a little bit of proof. His girlfriend, Vanessa, is a first year teacher and to decorate her room, she wanted some pictures of book covers to go around the top. Ben said, "Hey, I'll paint them for you!" So he freehanded three book covers on giant canvases for her and they are freaking AMAZING!!


Just to remind you what the originals looked like...here are images I pulled off the web:
And now for the most amazing part...painting canvases this big with something like Acrylic or oil paints would cost wayyyy too much (think of those little tiny bottles that they come in!) So what did Ben do? He bought big bottles of TEMPRA PAINT and mixed his own colors!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these masterpieces were made from the same things High School Cheerleaders use to make signs for football games. Amazing. Also, this was his first time to paint with paintbrushes...he usually only does paintings using pallet knives.

The Master hard at work.
Ben, you truly rock!

Oregon?? Really???

Today, a guy from work asked me if my accent was from Oregon. This shocked me for two reasons:

1. I'm from Texas, land of probably the most famous accent ever.
2. Can anyone tell me what an Oregon accent actually sounds like? I wasn't aware that the Oregonians had a recognizable dialect!

It's time for another....

Good Idea:
Volunteering to play a "trivia game" at a work function, answering questions about a few corny skits that are supposed to inform employees about different initiatives and such, and actually WINNING!! (I won an oh-so-fun Sabre Airline Solutions gym bag)

Bad Idea:
Missing a question about halfway through whose answer is....MY OWN PRODUCT!! That's right, I missed a question about the two delivery methods for our products - local install vs. eMergo ASP solutions. At this point one VP laughed and said "What product do you work for Emily???" I said "Well I used to work for eMergo..." and then my VP chimed in with "I would like to announce that I have a resource up for grabs if anyone wants it!" Most embarrassing moment of my career thus far....but in my defense, the question was worded really weirdly and no one else got what the girl running the game was asking for either. :)

I've Got My Ticket!!!

On November 11th, I will be in the Nokia Theater in Section 403 Row L Seats 10-15 with some of my friends! I can't wait!

Marathon - Not Just a Greek City

Well, I'm joining in on the new fad. I, Emily Tate, am training to run a half marathon. Am I crazy? Probably. Am I excited? Heck yes! Am I wondering if I'm actually going to make it to the end? Maybe a little.

Thus, I've created a new blog.

I am hoping that by journaling how things are going with my training, I will keep myself motivated and accountable, and I don't want to force you to read it on this blog. I don't know if anyone will actually come read these posts except me, which is completely okay...I'm sure some days I'll be really down and would be happy for no one to read it! But I think it will be fun to look back on it after I'm done and see how far I've come.

Reasons Why I've Avoided Running in the Past:
- I always played sports, so I never needed to go out of my way to run.
- I live in Texas where its too hot most of the time
- Its always the runners who find dead bodies in the woods

Reasons Why I'm Doing This:
- I need a new goal. Now that grad school is over, I have nothing to keep propelling me forward.
- I need to lose weight and although I have good intentions to work out, I never do it without a specific reason
- I have about 10 friends to help keep me motivated and to run with
- I can cross something off of THE List (I know I said 10K, but I'm going above and beyond)
- I need to rebuild my cardiovascular system after pneumonia

Marathon is officially not just a Greek city anymore to me.

100 Things About Me

Okay Ashley, here is my 100 Things post. Hope they're not too boring!

1. I am allergic to ketchup.
2. My hair changes color depending on what I’m wearing or how the lighting is. People always ask me if I dye my hair.
3. I am terrible at decorating but love a greatly decorated house/apartment
4. I am a complete Television junkie…love to watch all the shows, read critics reviews, follow the Nielsen’s, etc.
5. Not as big of a fan of movies. I really like a well written movie, but I am too ADD to sit through most of them.
6. I think that any movie longer than 90 minutes should be banned.
7. I made fun of Harry Potter until my old roommate Lindsay made me read books 1-4 before we went to see the first movie.
8. I only read them because I thought Lindsay was cool and I wanted her to be my friend (we weren’t roomies at the time)
9. Now I’m obsessed with Harry Potter. It and LOTR are the only movie series that can break #6.
10. My eyes are blue with a ring of brown in the center (I’ve been told its called incomplete dominance)
11. You rarely see the brown because my pupils are usually really big
12. My eyes are ALWAYS red in pictures (see #11). This makes Lindsey Holder mad because I ruin group pics.
13. I eat things around the edges so they maintain their original shape until the very end…especially things in circles (cookies, hamburgers, etc.) I don’t realize I’m doing it.
14. I watch the Young and the Restless. Yes, I am a nerd.
15. I also watch pretty much any reality show that comes on. I like things where people get voted off.
16. It is my dream to go on the Amazing Race and the one summer that I actually was free and had a partner (my brother), they decided to do the stupid “Family Edition” and teams had to be 4 people.
17. I love to travel, but I haven’t done it enough yet.
18. I will know every word to every song on the radio, but cannot tell you the name of the song or who the artist is ever.
19. I like being good at things and get really frustrated when I’m not
20. My biggest fear in life is that I won’t be able to have a baby
21. My second biggest fear in life is that other people will think I’m annoying
22. When I think people are annoyed with me, I get really insecure and try to stay away from them so I won’t bug them. Then they usually think I’m mad at them. It’s a vicious cycle.
23. I will never invite myself along or show up somewhere unless I am explicitly invited (see #21)
24. I read tons of blogs but don’t comment because I think that people will be freaked out by it (see #21 again!)
25. I have an amazing memory. I remember tiny details of everything that happens
26. I remember everyone I meet….where we met, what we talked about, what they were wearing
27. I usually pretend I don’t remember people so I don’t make them feel bad when they’re introducing themselves for the third or fourth time. :)
28. My biggest pet peeve in life is passive aggressiveness
29. My mom and I talk on the phone every day. Usually while we’re commuting (we both drive about 30 minutes to work).
30. I love to clean (scrubbing things, sweeping, mopping), but hate to “pick up” and/or organize things.
31. Therefore, my apartment, car, office, are pretty much always messy, no matter how good my intentions.
32. My kitchen is usually spotless (lots of things to “clean”!)
33. I didn’t realize that people would think it was weird to actually write a list of 100 things to do before I die. Oh well!
34. My absolute only regret in buying my car is that I have to tell people I drive a Lexus. I get embarrassed and worry that people are judging me. (I get over it pretty quickly once I’m driving though!)
35. I get lost all the time, but I am great at backtracking my steps
36. I am great at reading maps though, and never get lost when I have a map
37. I will never buy another car without a navigation system again. It has changed my life.
38. The lady’s voice on my nav system kind of freaks me out.
39. I own an old school Sega Genesis. I bought it on eBay in college.
40. I am a night owl to the max.
41. I am NOT a morning person at all. I hate waking up.
42. I am really blessed to have a boss who is not a morning person either.
43. I think I would die if I had a job where I actually had to be in the office by 8am.
44. I have never been able to sleep in cars or on airplanes
45. This makes long road trips and international flights absolutely miserable
46. I built nap time into my schedule my Freshman year of college
47. I love anything that can be tracked in a spreadsheet. Having all the cells line up and balance makes me really happy.
48. About 40% of my dreams have a tornado in them. Most have more than one.
49. I love getting all dressed up and going to black tie affairs. It makes me feel beautiful and glamorous.
50. I hate getting dressed in normal clothes. I feel uncool and like I don’t ever have anything cute to wear.
51. I usually wear t-shirts because of this. At least everyone KNOWS I’m not trying to look cute in a t-shirt
52. Going straight from undergrad to grad school is one of the smartest decisions I have ever made
53. I will let a bug crawl across my living room floor rather than killing it. I’m not scared of them or a big Bug’s Rights activist or anything…I just can’t handle the “crunch” noise that it makes when you step on them.
54. I am a very nostalgic person
55. I bought every episode of Strawberry Shortcake about 2 years ago.
56. I am currently collecting Berenstain Bears books and want to own all of them by the time I have kids.
57. My great uncle Edgar called me “Gigglin Gertie” when I was little
58. I still can’t do or say much without starting to laugh
59. People at work comment about the fact that I am happy all the time
60. That is one of the greatest compliments I have ever gotten
61. I can make big decisions with confidence, but will freak out if someone asks me to choose a restaurant.
62. I love to cook and I’m actually pretty good at it.
63. I had the same 3 roommates all through college (well the first couple of years we weren’t actually roommates, but Nichole and I lived across the hall from Deb and Linds, so we might as well have been)
64. We have plans to get together at least once a year for a Roomie Weekend. So far we’ve kept up with it!
65. I am so proud of my dad. I think he is the smartest, most musically talented, best Christian leader, compassionate person I know.
66. I pray all the time that I will find someone as incredible as him to marry
67. Nearly every night after dinner (especially in the spring/summer) my dad would sit down with a box of Nilla Wafers and Peanut Butter and eat them while he watched the Rangers game.
68. I still love Nilla Wafers and peanut butter
69. I REALLY love baseball, especially the Rangers
70. I have only been to 3 Rangers games this year….that is really unusual for me.
71. I love college football but don’t really get into NFL football
72. I am a 100% fair weather fan with Basketball. I have no interest unless the Mavericks are in the final couple of rounds of the playoffs
73. Hockey games are entirely too cold for me to ever get into them.
74. In the day, I am extremely cold natured and usually carry a sweater with me
75. At night I get really hot no matter how cold I turn the A/C.
76. I love Winter because I love wearing thick warm sweaters
77. I love backpacking and camping
78. My brother and I used to hate each other, but we’re really close now
79. I played the Flute and Piccolo in high school
80. I still play my flute every now and then for fun. Its something I was really good at (see #19)
81. I could read before I started Kindergarten.
82. I still love to read. Books make me really happy.
83. I was a cheerleader all through middle school and high school
84. It really freaks me out that people younger than me are married and having babies
85. Please notice I didn’t say “depressed” on #84
86. I love it when I open my blog and have tons of comments
87. That usually only happens when I’ve made people mad on my blog
88. I have an uncle with Down’s Syndrome
89. I work at home half time and it is the greatest perk ever (see #41 and #50)
90. I want a cute little dog more than anything.
91. I’m way too busy to have a dog right now.
92. I’m considering getting a kitten instead.
93. I am a compulsive email checker. I feel like I’m missing out on something when I don’t check it frequently
94. I am addicted to sodas…especially Dr. Pepper
95. For some reason, I am really easy to interrupt. It happens all the time…I can never finish a story
96. As soon as #95 gets discussed in a group (usually after I’m in part 5 of a story b/c I’ve been interrupted so much), when I start talking again, at least one person always interrupts me on purpose as a joke. They think its hilarious.
97. It’s really not.
98. My nicknames: Em, Emmy Gail (reserved for my mom only), Emilizer, Tate, Tater, Tatertot, Tatums, ET Phone Home, Emilia, Emilio
99. I love meeting new people
100. I am training to run a half-marathon with some friends.

I'm supposed to tag some people now and I'm about to tag three people who I doubt will ever do this, but I really wish would because it would be incredibly interesting: Ryan Inlow, Trey Laminack, and Lindsey Holder.

Random Sweden Pics

I promise I'll do your 100 things for my next post, Ashley, but tonight I don't have a lot of time. But I wanted to finish off my Sweden adventure with a few more pictures that I hadn't gotten to yet. :)

First up - I was lucky enough to be exploring Gamla Stan (check another one off THE List) when the Changing of the Guards took place at the Royal Palace. It was pretty cool.


35. Spend an afternoon exploring Gamla Stan in Stockholm, Sweden

This was how bright the sky was at 11:00pm! It was really amazing how long it stayed light there!
And finally, a really goofy picture of me modeling the new hat that the guys from our Stockholm office gave me....somehow I didn't end up making it home with it though! I think I left it in my hotel room. If you can't tell, I was laughing pretty hard when they gave it to me. :)
Up next on Emily's World Tour....not too far from home in oh-so-classy Las Vegas, Nevada! My work is sending me to a conference there to do basically the same stuff I did in Sweden. But this time, my best friend at work, Lauren, gets to go too! Traveling is much more fun when you have a friend.

Identity in 5 words or less

(CNN) -- Victims who died in the Minnesota bridge collapse Wednesday included a father nicknamed "Homer," a successful businesswoman, a "chatterbox" who "loved to smile and laugh," and a mother who dreamed of a cosmetics career.

I wonder what my "tag" would be.

Its time for another....

Good Idea:
Saying hello and having quick conversations everyday with a guy at work who sits in the same area as me.


Bad Idea:
Not asking the guy's name the first time we talked and letting him call me by name when 6 months later I still have no idea who he is. Its definitely past the point where I can ask him his name now