Vegas Baby!!

So I'm laid up at home following a foot surgery on Friday.  I think it's punishment for not blogging enough.  To make amends, I'm going to continue on my adventures from March with my trip to Vegas!

My dad and I decided to take a trip to Vegas with just the two of us.  It was completely random...I'm not sure exactly when or how we decided to do this, but it was definitely one of the most fun trips I've had! 

I could tell you all about our adventures, great meals, cool casinos, etc.  But instead of boring you with the things you could find on any travel site, I'll just leave you with a bit of advice for the future: If you're up $300 but have a little time before you have to head back to the airport and say "Hey, let's stop and take our pictures in front of the Vegas sign" and your traveling partner says "No, let's stop at Tropicana and gamble a little more," tell him no and keep yourself from losing $200.  Not that this happened to me or anything....totally hypothetical situation. :)

This is the only picture we took together the entire trip...at the airport right before we boarded the plane to go home!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you had a great day with family, food, and football. :)

On the field at Texas Stadium at a work event last year. :)

Halloween Recap

It's 6:45pm and has already been pitch black outside for the past hour. That makes me sad. I don't know what I'd do if I lived in Sweden or Alaska or another one of those places where it is dark pretty much 24/7 in the winter!!

But on to the important stuff...Halloween! I've been so busy this year, I actually forgot it was coming. But my cousin, Allyson invited me to a party with some of her friends on Friday night. Then she started talking about dressing up and I was like "Why would we dress up?" That was the first time I realized it was Halloween!

So I made a quick trip to Academy after work on Friday and did a really pathetic transformation into camo-girl for the night. Ally channeled some 80's Madonna, and we headed off to The Glass Cactus for the Spazmatics Halloween Bash. Spazmatics are an awesome 80's band that I have been to probably 10-15 times (for example...here and here). It was the perfect Halloween activity - everyone had a great time just dancing and hanging out and they put on a really fun show. We felt like we were at the Halloween party out of Hocus Pocus with everyone dressed up and dancing to a live band. :) Is it sad I set my holiday expectations from a kids movie?

And now...pictures. ;) Starting with me, Ally, and her friend Anastasia (with the Spazmatics in the background!)

I incldued this one for the full effect of Allyson's outfit. Ha!

No Halloween party is complete without Uncle Fester and his (working) lightbulb!

Asian Michael Phelps and Shark. This guy had some SERIOUS self esteem to be able to walk around in a speedo all night!

We all had such a great time! Thanks for a great Halloween, Allyson! :)

A Conversation With My Dad

Dad: So I'm getting a new car....

Me: What kind?

Dad: Well I figure I'm 58, which means I only have 2 years left in my "mid-life." I'd better get my mid-life crisis car while I can!

And that is the story of how my dad became a proud Corvette owner. :) And after driving the 1983 El Camino for the past 10 years, I can honestly say no one deserves it more!

Sesame Street

One of these things is not like the other.....

Yes, that is Patty Weaver in a Supergirl costume. Yes, we were out in public at a restaurant. No, this was not a part of any dare, nor was she under the influence.

Travelocity "Race to Savings" Sale

Hey guys! Since I get the question all the time "can you get me discounts?" I thought I'd post it here that for once, I can! :)

Travelocity is having a Race to Savings sale for the next month in honor of The Amazing Race premiere. For the next week (Sept 2-8) I can give you a "Friends and Family" discount code that will get an extra $50 off a 3+ night stay at any of the participating hotels on top of the discounts that are already there.

Its not a ton, but if you're planning to go somewhere between now and January 15th and you're ready to book your hotel this week, leave me a comment or send me an email and I'll send you the discount code along with a note about how I'm jealous because I'm not going anywhere.

Happy Traveling!
Emily

My Future Sister-in-law

I know we all thought it would never happen, but my brother Ben is engaged!! Okay, so he's been engaged for 2 weeks and I just haven't blogged about it yet. :)

The happy couple
Me and Vanessa
The big day is July 19, 2009! I really like Vanessa and I am so excited she is going to be my sister-in-law. And even more exciting (okay maybe not, but its pretty cool), she is going to be my roommate for the next year! I'm not so worried about living with Vanessa...it's Ben being around all the time that makes me a little scared. :) Just kidding! It will definitely be something to tell the nieces and nephews about some day though!

Some Respect for Our Candidates

Tonight I had a very weird experience that really made me think about a different side of the 2008 campaigns and made me have more respect for all of our 2008 Presidential Candidates.

I am taking it easy tonight, watching Saturday Night Live, when Hillary Clinton makes a surprise guest appearance. However, this morning, my family and friends were in the Stockyards in Fort Worth and stumbled upon a Hillary Clinton rally*.

I hear about them being all over the country, but it wasn't until I thought about being here where I live this morning and then being in New York this evening that it made me think about just how EXHAUSTING a campaign must be. I've taken a few day trips and had some times where I am on the road a lot and am always just ready to die after a lot of traveling. But for the past 6 months or more, these candidates have been on the road constantly. AND, they are scrutinized over every word that comes out of their mouth in this exhausted state of mind**. Regardless of who I personally support***, tonight I definitely want to give props to all the candidates for their perserverence in this campaign.

* Not sure where Patty and Wade stand, but my family will kill me if I let it seem like they actually went to the rally and/or support Clinton. They just took a picture with a sign to make me jealous because I really want to attend a political rally before the campaign is over just to be a part of it.

** I still fully plan on scrutinizing every word that comes out of candidates' mouths. I just have more sympathy for them now. :)

*** John McCain for President!

My Name is J'aime

In one week, I went from Football to Fashion.

My cousin, Allyson, called me with an invitation to a fancy party for Dallas International Fashion Week (same group that puts on New York Fashion Week only totally not as cool). I love dressing up so I said yes. While we were getting ready, I found out what the party was for - it was a fashion show for Jaime Pressly's new line, J'aime (clever, huh?).

You might recognize Jaime Pressly as this:


But that night, she looked like this:


Also in attendance: Jerry Stackhouse from the Mavs, a guy from Project Runway, and a couple of girls from Friday Night Lights. Thats right, I was actually at a party with bona fide celebrities.

Here are some pics of me and Allyson and our other friend, Katy that went with us.

State Fair

This Sunday, my brother decided to drag my whole family to the State Fair whether we liked it or not. I think we were all glad he did though - because we had a really good time. We got to eat our annual State Fair corny dog, see Big Tex, hear some bands, and go to the car show. It was a pretty good day.

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!

Tis Far Better to Give...

Almost 2 years ago, I came home from VBS practice and my parents were waiting with a surprise...a new Sony VAIO laptop that they bought me for graduation. I definitely had the best laptop of everyone in my class.

About 3 months later, I found out that in order to buy my computer, my dad sold his 1983 Les Paul Custom guitar on eBay. If you aren't a guitar fan, you probably don't know that Les Paul Customs are basically the best guitars on the market - you really can't get any better. It made me absolutely sick to find this out.

So this year, I've been saving up in hopes of finding the same guitar on eBay. After being outbid a few times (once by only $25), Ben went to the guitar shop to talk to them and found out that for people who actually play their guitars, a new one is better than an old one. So I bought one and gave it to him on Saturday at Lawry's at my graduation dinner. It was definitely the best feeling on the planet. I have never seen my dad truly speechless before. He's done so much for me, it was great to finally be able to give him something back.

April Fools!

I have kind of started dating a new guy named Alan. Nothing serious, we're just having fun. Well last night my brother Ben really wanted me to invite him to come out with Ben, a couple of his friends, and me. So I called him and invited him and he said yes. Now I hate Ben meeting new guys because he will either 1. REALLY dislike them or 2. Like them and say something to embarrass me. But I took my chances.

So Ben, his friends, and I are standing in line and Alan was on his way to meet us. I'm giving Ben the "don't embarrass me" lecture and he says "Hey, I've only known one Alan in my life and he was awesome. So if this guy is anything like him, then we're all good" and goes on to tell me how he became friends with this guy because they dated the same girl.

Alan gets there, walks up, and he and Ben start going "OH MY GOODNESS! IT'S BEEN FOREVER!!" and talking about this is the guy he was talking about earlier and how we can't believe how small the world is. I'm freaking out because I just can't believe it and don't really know what to do with this new bit of information.

They go on for about 2 hours letting me believe this ruse and right as we're leaving, they tell me that they've never met and it was an April Fool's joke! Apparently, Ben stole my phone yesterday afternoon at a family birthday party we were having and called Alan and planned the whole thing. Nice one Ben. Two thumbs up.

In other news, after I got home I decided I was hungry and wanted a sandwich (for some reason Turkey sandwiches always sound good around 10 or 11...). Fast forward to this morning when I woke up and very suddenly realized that the turkey I used must be bad. Morals of the story - always check expiration dates on lunch meat (should be common sense I know, but I just bought it!) and rubber bands to hold back hair are a girls best friend. :) Hopefully I'll be in better shape tomorrow - busy week ahead! But if you need to find me today, I"ll be on my couch, anxiously awaiting a new episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Mr. Tate Goes to College

So my grandfather is in the hospital right now (nothing life threatening, don't worry) so we have had to figure out what to do with my Uncle Brian during the day. Brian has Down's Syndrome and hangs out with my grandfather all day every day, so figuring out the logistics of having someone with him has been complicated.

So today after my Operations Management test (Tyson if you're reading this one...your test killed me today!:) ) I drove to my mom's office and picked up Brian to come to class with me. Brian had his bag of goodies with magazines, DVD player, and walkman, sat down on the front row, and didn't pull out a single item the whole class! He just sat there listening to our stats professor talk about z-scores and the like. He did fall asleep for a little bit, but overall actually listened and looked at my computer screen! Then we hung out in a team room and Brian watched Grease while I worked and then we went to another meeting.

After subjecting an unwilling party to statistics, I was certain Brian would never want to go anywhere with me again! But apparently tonight at dinner, he told everyone about how he went to college today, showed them how I type on my computer, and told them all about how the professor (Dr. Dielman) talked to him and said "Hi Brian!" Overall, it was a pretty good day for Brian in college.

Here is Brian hanging out in a team room in between class and meetings.

Ben Update

Wow, its been a whole week since I've written anything. To update those of you who haven't asked in person, Ben is doing well. He was put in ICU on Saturday and then let out on Monday and he went home on Wednesday. They're going to do tests in about a week to figure out what is going on with him. Thank you for all of the prayers lifted up for him and all of the comments made to me asking how he is. It really means a lot to me.

Lose the hate part of love/hate relationships.

Last night I spent the night in the hospital with my brother, Ben. There is something wrong with him and they can't figure out what it is, but it causes absolutely horrible pain in his body constantly. This is the third time he's been admitted with this same pain - the first time they removed his appendix and the second time they removed his gall bladder. They have run out of extraneous parts to take out and are actually going to have to figure out what is really wrong this time. But all of this is not what I am writing about today. This is just spurring on my thoughts about my relationship with my brother.

Any of you who really know me know that Ben and I have had a pretty rocky past. We are best friends when we are in different cities two hours away, but put us in the same house for more than one week and we want to kill each other. But last night as I watched him lay in pain, his face turning red as he tried to control it, I realized how much time we have wasted hating each other. There have been moments in my life where we have really connected and been sad about times that we have been unnecessarily mean to each other, but none will ever come close to the connection we made last night. In just a matter of 12 short (or in his mind - very, very, long) hours, he had to put his trust wholly in me and I had to honestly assure him I would do everything I could to take away his pain. This is because I was in charge of a button that could be pushed every 15-30 minutes to release some morphine into his blood stream. All I wanted was for him to sleep so he wouldn't feel pain. As I stayed up doing this, I couldn't imagine what it would be like under different circumstances.

I am only his sister. I am not his mother. But when he would cry out in the darkness to me in a voice barely above a whisper because it was all he could get out, "Emily...please...please make it stop..." and grab my hand and look at me with eyes filled with pain, it was all I could do to keep myself together. Just thinking about it again I am crying. I felt so useless because I wanted to take this from him; I would have done ANYTHING to make the pain go away, but I couldn't. Tonight my mom is staying the night, Thursday night was my dad. Ben is their son. I can't even imagine how excruciating it must be for them to watch him like this.

I know this is the stereotypical direction to go at this point, but I can't help it because it is so true. As much pain as Ben is in right now, it is nothing compared to the pain that Jesus went through. And it makes me feel horrible for all of the times that I have failed and will continue to fail in the future. In the same way that Ben looked at me with that pain in his eyes last night, Jesus looks at me when I screw up, and I don't want to see that pain when I get to Heaven.

Finally, my last rambling thought of this whole ordeal is that I want to encourage anyone reading this to think about the people in your life who you have struggles with and try with all your might to get past your problems. I know there are times in my life that I have wished pain on Ben, and as difficult as it is to even think these words, much less type them, I know that at least at one point many years ago, I thought my life would actually be easier if he just weren't around at all. I can't even bring myself to write the real word to end that sentence. But I can guarantee you I will never have these feelings again. Sure, I will be mad at him again and we will argue again, but if I never have to see him feeling like this again, I will be happy. And last night proved to me beyond the shadow of a doubt that I do want him around and in my life. I don't know what I would do without him. So although you may not believe me, if there is someone in your life who you have a love/hate relationship with, lose the hate, because you will only hate yourself when you have to spend a night with them like I did last night.