tagged

Ok, I was "tagged" by Anna and Alex to complete this fun little activity, but it's taken me a while to get around to it.

Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.)

And this was the result...

Not even kidding... What the heck?

I tag:

1. Blair McLeod
2. Em Rozell
3. Sara Zimmer
4. Melissa Richie

100

I've been anxiously awaiting this post for a while now... watching that little number beside my blog name until it reached 99... but now this is my 100th post! (Sarah beat me to it last night...) So, in honor of my 100th post, I have prepared a list of more things about me than you'd probably ever want to know...

1. I hate birds' wings flapping.
2. My grandma is Australian.
3. My spiritual gift is hospitality.
4. I love praying with my husband.
5. I watched all 10 seasons on Friends in 2 months on DVD.
6. I am an early bird which requires that I go to bed annoyingly early.
7. I am embarrassingly lazy.
8. Honey mustard is my favorite condiment (and virtually the only condiment I eat at all).
9. I secretly love my handwriting sometimes.
10. I am envious of my dad's patriotism.
11. I've always been an inconsistent journal-er.
12. My first car was a 1989 Chrysler LeBaron convertible.
13. I am terrible decorator.
14. I aspire to be as good of a wife, mom and friend as the women who have mentored me over the years.
15. I haven't flossed my teeth in years.
16. I could eat macaroni every day.
17. My brother is going to be famous one day. You should be friends with him.
18. I'm proud to be a Geyer, but I'll always be a Bourke at heart.
19. I want to know more about politics.
20. I have recently become incredibly sentimental.
21. I am a pack-rat, which does not bode well for being incredibly sentimental.
22. I am incredibly comfortable with confrontation.
23. I know I am called and created to be a mom, and I cannot wait for that time to come.
24. Gymnastics was my thing growing up. I quit when I was 12, competing at level 5.
25. Reading was my other thing growing up. I was never, ever without a book.
26. When I was in elementary school I made a library out of my books. Literally. Each book had a pocked with a card in it so Ashley & Greg could check them out and I had a “card catalog” with every book of mine written (in correct format) on an index card. I was serious about it.
27. Other than my salvation, working at Camp Vesper Point has been the single most influential experience of my life.
28. David and I have lists (ok, I have lists, but he helped make them) of things we want to do in our lifetime- categorized of course.
29. I pick my split ends. It’s a terrible habit, and I’m trying to quit.
30. I have had plastic surgery. Ok, not really, but a plastic surgeon did have to remove a cyst from my lower eyelid.
31. I love, love office supplies. Pens, paper, binders, notebooks, paperclips, etc.
32. In the winter I pretty much only wear black. I have 5 black sweaters.
33. Rarely does a day go by that I don’t remember all of my dreams vividly. I’m convinced that it messed with my deep sleep, which makes me tired throughout the day. (remember- hypochondriac)
34. I think grief training is something every person alive should have to go through.
35. David and I fell in love on a sand volleyball court.
36. Every time I type the word paragraph I spell it “paragraphy”.
37. Every time I say the Pledge of Allegiance I accidentally say “Amen” at the end.
38. I have always (ok, not when I was a little girl) had a difficult time making/being friends with girls. Thus, I am so thankful for all of my girlfriends who put up with me!
39. Homeschooling fascinates me, and we’re currently planning to homeschool our kids.
40. Each morning of elementary school (well, 4th and 5th grade while I was at Calvary) we had to say the Pledge of Allegiance, the pledge to the Christian flag and the pledge to the Bible.
41. I’ve recently become obsessed with paisley.
42. I’ve only been a bridesmaid once (refer to #38).
43. My mom is the youngest child of 6. There are 14 original grandkids, 7 grandkid-in-laws (with 2 more being added this summer), and 7 great-grands (1 on the way) totaling at 30 cousinish people.
44. It took 14 years for all 14 grandkids to be in the same place at the same time, and it was at my grandmother’s funeral.
45. There is a 30 year age difference between the oldest cousin (Charles, in New York) and the youngest cousin (my brother Greg, in Georgia).
46. I already have my children’s names picked out (but come on, what girl doesn’t?).
47. I am always, always cold.
48. David is the only boyfriend I’ve ever had and the only boy I’ve ever kissed. :)
49. I have my cartilage pierced on my left ear. So does my mom.
50. Though I grew up in Georgia, I have never been to an Atlanta Braves game.
51. In high school I thought I was called to full time, vocational ministry and thus started the process of ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. Then I got to college and learned about myself.
52. My fifth grade music teacher (Miss Pope) was the one to tell me there was no Santa Claus. Yes, in 5th grade.
53. I was born in Torrance, CA. Every single time I write Torrance, I have to check to see if it is spelled “Torrance” or “Torrence”. I usually get it wrong.
54. My favorite white cake is Publix brand. My favorite dessert in general is Linda’s Fudge Cake from Cheesecake Factory.
55. I love to play games, but I’m typically a sore loser.
56. I LOVE the Olympics. I mean, really love them.
57. Bunionettes run in my family, and I’ve had surgery to get mine removed from my left foot.
58. I went skiing every winter with my youth group.
59. I went white water rafting every summer with my youth group.
60. If I had my druthers I would wear sweat pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt every day of my life.
61. I bought my first house when I was 21.
62. I have really strong fingernails and really weak ankles.
63. Every book report I ever had to do was either on John Gregory Bourke or Clara Barton.
64. John Gregory Bourke is my only famous ancestor.
65. The thing that rid me of my fingernail biting habit was a gymnastics coach who explained how many germs there are on uneven bars.
66. I had 2 ancestors on the Titanic.
67. The standard high school graduation gift for girls in my family is a Huguenot cross necklace.
68. I compulsively check my email. And blogs. And facebook.
69. I almost always prefer the self-checkout line at the grocery.
70. Since knowing David, I call grocery stores simply “the grocery”.
71. Gchat is one of my new favorite things.
72. I really hate washing my hands after I go to the bathroom. (Just being real with you here.)
73. My high school didn’t have “dances” (Baptist school/church...), we had formal dinner events.
74. My favorite minor holiday (can you have minor and major holidays like you do characters in a book?) is Veterans Day, because I love going to services when all of the branches of the military are represented and the Veterans stand and salute their flag.
75. The sun makes me sneeze, and I used to think it made everyone sneeze.
76. I have never owned a key to my parent’s house (the house I lived in from 7th grade on). Hence, we never, ever locked a door.
77. My parents had my ears pierced when I was an infant, thus it was always an expectation that I wear earrings all of the time.
78. The elderly make me terribly sad.
79. My middle name is Louise after my great Aunt Louise.
80. There are 5 other “Louises” in my family.
81. Aunt Louise’s first name was actually Harriett.
82. The Pioneer Woman is my favorite blog.
83. I would totally drive a minivan.
84. I am prone to leaving the lid to the toilet up, but I’m working on putting it down…
85. My favorite number has always been 9. No idea why.
86. My mom’s first name is Mary, but she goes by Mollie.
87. I cheered at Samford my freshman year of college.
88. I broke my nose cheering my freshman year of college when an 80lb. flier fell out of a stunt and onto my face- with her elbow.
89. My sister and I are 2 years and 1 day apart. However, I was born in California late at night and she was born in Georgia (just a few weeks after we moved) early in the morning- so if we had still been in CA, it would have been the same day.
90. Until this year, I had never been to any doctor who was a female.
91. My most embarrassing moment took place in front of hundreds of parents, coaches and high school cheerleaders during an All-American run-off at cheerleading camp.
92. Every birthday party I had growing up was one of three things: a spend-the-night party (combined with Ashley and her friends, of course), a gymnastics party (combined with Ashley and her friends, of course) or a pool party (this was my choice as I got older and they weren’t always combined).
93. Growing up, we frequently had gerbils as pets. Until we woke up one morning to find that one gerbil had eaten the other one. Not kidding.
94. I have never attended a public school. Kind of a shame, huh?
95. I have 1,222 facebook friends.
96. Of my facebook friends, 11 are my past teachers.
97. I love headbands.
98. I wish I had dimples.
99. When I worked at summer day camp in middle/high school, one kid asked me why I had feathers on my arms and another kid asked why I had boy arms. Thus, I’m incredibly self-conscious about my hairy arms.
100. This took me a long, long time.
     

what do you think?

Ok, so I have a dilemma. Sort of. Here's the thing... David and I have been talking about getting either a nice new camera (probably a Nikon D80) or a puppy (a Maltipoo preferably :)).

We just found out the D80 is being discontinued, so that is a factor, but not a deal breaker. I've been wanting a dog on and off for months and months... actually since I graduated from college, so close to 2 years. So tell us... what do you think?? There's a poll right here:

OH, and comment to say why you voted for what you did.

(Thanks to Sarah for co-writing this post :))

rainy day

It's a rainy, rainy day and I'm ok with that. I'm really enjoying that most of the people in my office are not here and it's really quiet. Yesterday was our United Way Auction and it was mayhem. Total chaos. The event was completely disorganized and boy did it stress me out. I'm glad today is providing some down time.

Speaking of down time, since I have some, I figured I'd fill out this little Christmas quiz about myself. Enjoy!

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I try to stock up on all things Christmas post-season when they are really cheap, and wrapping paper is one of those things. Though this year I did spring for a roll of Sally Foster since Hayden was selling it.
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial. Beth's hand-me-down which we are thankful for. It's a little threadbare, but it works for now :)
3. When do you put up the tree? We don't have a "usual" yet, but the plan is to do it as soon after Thanksgiving as we possibly can.
4. When do you take the tree down? probably New Year's Day since we're both off work.
5. Do you like eggnog? Nope.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I'll second Em Rozell's answer and say my Molly American Girl doll
7. Hardest person to buy for? David! If anyone has any ideas- I'm all ears!
8. Easiest person to buy for? my Dad- when he provides a list of books he wants :)
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep- you already saw it!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! They are almost ready to go and I'm so excited! I LOVE Christmas cards, and I hope people send us theirs :) (hint, hint)
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? One year my dad went out on a limb and bought clothes for me and Ashley for Christmas... it was a bad idea. Best gift (I added that part)- my pearl ring that was my Aunt Louise's
12. Favorite Christmas Movies? Easy. Christmas Vacation.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? whenever I see something good. One day I'd love to really have an idea of what people want early so I can get it done, but I really enjoy buying for others so it's not stressful.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I honestly don't think so... I try to be pretty sensitive to that because I think it's so rude and tacky. We were the recipients of several re-gifted wedding presents...
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? cider (drink, but still)
16. Lights on the tree? Of course! white ones! Oh, and we'll never not have a pre-lit tree. What an brilliant invention.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night. Mostly because it automatically makes me picture Pierce Chapel, lights off, the whole chapel full of people holding their lit candles in the air as we end the Christmas Eve service
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel. We mostly traveled to Round Hill when I was growing up and now David and I will either be traveling to Georgia or Ohio every year (GA this year)- until we have kids. Once we have kids, Christmas can come to us :).
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I thought so, but I tried and was way off.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. 50% off at Hobby Lobby!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning. Although we do open our Christmas pajamas Christmas eve. Yep, grown adults, but still getting Christmas pjs.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? people who decorate their houses with a ridiculous amount of stuff and the notion that you need to say "Happy Holidays" to be pc
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Since David and I are just starting our decor collection, it's looking like it will be the red/gold thing. My favorite ornament has always (since I was little) been this gold angel thing with my name and birth date/time/weight. I think I liked it when I was little because of the way it lit up when the lights reflected off it.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? the usual. Though my family does eat at Waffle House on Christmas Eve :)
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? nothing fancy... we have already gotten SO much this year that there's nothing left that we need!

yep, I'm doing this

I remember when these little lists about yourself was the only thing email was valuable for. I was all over these things in middle school. So, now that I'm out of middle school and feeling a little nostalgic, I'm going to fill this sucker out for old time's sake. (Em Rozell emailed it to me, by the way, I didn't just go looking for it)

1. What time did you get up this morning? Well the alarm went off at 6:10. I think I got out of bed at... 6:39
2. Diamonds or pearls? usually pearls
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema: The Traitor... don't see it
4. What is your favorite TV show? of all time? Friends. of right now? The Office
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? cereal or yogurt
6. What is your middle name? Louise (after my great, great aunt)
7. What food do you dislike? this could be quite a list... I'll categorize them all by saying healthy foods
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? shane & shane "pages"
9. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Trailblazer though I most frequently drive the Accord since we only take that car to work
10. Favorite sandwich? club royale from Jason's Deli
11. What characteristic do you despise? disrespectfulness (yeah, it's not a word...)
12. Favorite item of clothing? either my chacos, my red long-sleeved "Awanita" tshirt or my black Patagonia pull-over
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I would take a round-the-world trip to see all of the places my dad has lived and traveled to
4. Favorite brand of clothing? JCrew (though I don't shop there much)
15. Where would you retire to? somewhere with a big porch and a hammock (hammOCK, right Jayme?)
16 What was your most recent memorable birthday? I guess my 20th because David surprised me by coming into town- that's when we started dating!
17. Favorite sport to watch? basketball
18. Furthest place you are sending this to? well, let's see... who reads my blog from far away? probably Sara in Thailand (though I'm not sure if she reads it...)
19. Person you expect to send it back first? since I'm not doing this like I'm supposed to, that could be interesting. I'm going to say Sarah is the most likely to also fill it out on her blog
20. When is your birthday? August 26, 1985
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning
22. What is your shoe size? 8.25 and unfortunately shoes don't come in that size
23. Pets? none... yet :)
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? not really
25. What did you want to be when you were little? I don't remember... maybe a gymnast or a teacher or a librarian... yeah, librarian. I was a nerdy little thing (no offense mom, it's just not what most kids hope to be one day!)
26. How are you today? pretty good. kinda sleepy (but that's typical) and ready for my dinner date with David at Big River
27. What is your favorite candy? Junior Mints
28. What is your favorite flower? sunflowers
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Whatever day Kate is born
30. What is your full name? Emily Louise Geyer
31. What are you listening to right now? background office noise- but it's pretty quiet
32. What was the last thing you ate? a peanut butter & honey sandwich
33. Do you wish on stars? nope
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? earthy green
35. How is the weather right now? cool
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Tim Gaudin- a faculty member at UTC
37. Favorite soft drink? sprite, but I try to stay away mostly
38. Favorite restaurant? right now... Big River
39. Real hair color? brown
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Hmm... probably dress up clothes
41. Summer, winter, Spring or Fall? Fall for sure. I'm loving it right now!
42. Hugs or kisses? hugs
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? definitely chocolate (unless it's ice cream, then vanilla)
44. Coffee or tea? neither... yuck
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? nah
46. When was the last time you cried? Monday
47. What is under your bed? miscellaneous stuff
48. What did you do last night? had dinner with Drinkwine at our house!
49. What are you afraid of? loosing someone I love
50. Salty or sweet? sweet
51. How many keys on your key ring? 8
52. How many years at your current job? 4 months
53. Favorite day of the week? Saturday for sure
54. How many towns have you lived in? Torrence, CA, Columbus, GA, Savannah, GA (can you count that? it was just one summer), Birmingham, AL, Chattanooga, TN
55. Do you make friends easily? I think so
56. How many people will you send this to? however many read my blog
57. How many will respond? probably not many!

visitors and lists of 4

Last night I got to spend some time with the Masseys as they drove through town on their way back to Columbus from Michigan. Rachel, her three girls Payton (7), Eden (6) and Aiva (5) and their bunny "Silky" had dinner with us at Amigos and then hung out at our house for a little while before hitting the road for the final leg of their 14 (!!) hour day in the car. Those girls are troopers but man they had some energy to burn off by the time they got to the house! I wish I had taken a picture because they are the most beautiful girls, and because they packed for themselves on this trip and a little girl at a gas station along the way told Payton she looked like Hannah Montana. Bahaha! Just what every mom wants to hear.

I got "tagged" a while back to fill out one of those A-Z survey things, but I would like to opt out and fill out this one instead. So sue me.

Here it goes!

Four, Four, Four, Four…..

A. Four places that I go to over and over:
1. work (UTC)
2. Bi-Lo
3. Wal-Mart
4. home (man, these are lame... I need to get out more!)

B. Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. David
2. Sarah
3. Beth
4. Becca

C. My favorite 4 places to eat (in Chattanooga):
1. Big River
2. Amigo's
3. University Pizza & Deli
4. Chick-Fil-A
(I'd add Cheesecake Factory if we were talking about out of Chattanooga)

D. Four places I would rather be right now:
1. home laying in the bed with David watching the Office (we're almost done with Season 2!)
2. Sanibel Island (well, the beach in general, but I could stay for free at this one :))
3. in Birmingham with Ashley (we're going tomorrow!!)
4. David's parents' screened in porch

E. Four people who read your blog:
1. Mark & Shelby Jenkins (yeah, they are 2 people, but I want to count them both)
2. Ashley (but only because it gets emailed to her when I update it)
3. Sarah
4. Beth

F. Four TV shows I watch all the time:
I haven't watched much tv lately, but when I do, these are them...
1. The Office (see D.1.)
2. Jon & Kate Plus 8
3. We just finished watching The Newlyweds on DVD, but I'm glad that's over
4. Little People, Big World

G. Four words that describe you:
1. Friendly
2. Helpful
3. Routine
4. High-strung

H. Four quirky things about you (I changed this one because it originally was about classic movie stars and I don't know anything about that):
1. I plug my ears when I get scared.
2. I don't start my movie candy until the actual movie starts (I won't even open it during the previews).
3. I pick my split ends.
4. I double click on words while I'm reading things on the computer. It doesn't matter what it is, but I like to highlight the words as I go.

I. Four favorite “old school” television game shows:
I don't really know about "old school" game shows, so I'm just going to say game shows in general (man, I'm being so difficult):
1. Jeopardy
2. Family Feud
3. The Price is Right
4. Deal or No Deal

J. Four favorite “old school” television shows:
1. “Full House"
2. "Step by Step"
3. "Boy Meets World"
4. "Flinstones"/"Jetsons" (they tie for #4)

K. List four things you liked best about Christmas when you were a child (I’m adding a qualifier here—BESIDES PRESENTS!):
1. Getting out of school for a week
2. Heart shaped waffles at Round Hill
3. The anticipation of seeing the living room full of presents (we weren't allowed to go downstairs until my grandfather woke up and had his coffee)
4. Leaving Round Hill to go home

L. List four things you liked best about Halloween when you were a child:
1. Having candy at home for months
2. Always having a better costume than Ashley (ie- I was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and she was a pig)
3. candy corn
4. not really Halloween, but I loved the school Fall Festival

M. List four things you did not like about growing up:
1. Being the oldest and always getting held to a different standard than Ashley or Greg (definitely Greg)
2. When I didn't want to go to gymnastics but my parents made me because it was a commitment that I had made (though I'm thankful for that now)- and then watching Greg quit everything he ever started
3. Getting in trouble for back talking and not being able to watch Full House (a mild punishment) or getting my mouth washed out with soap (for really bad back talk)
4. My haircut

N. List 4 events that impacted your life:
1. Becoming a Christian (4th grade)
2. My mom's diagnosis w/ Multiple Sclerosis (2000)
3. My Aunt Barbara's death (October 2007)
4. Marrying David (August 9, 2008)

Whew...

I'm not going to "tag" people to do it themselves, because those of you reading either don't have blogs of your own or you've already done it on your blog. Feel free to start an e-chain that says the love of your life will find you within 48 hours if you forward this to your 4.8 closest friends in the next 48 seconds. That should be fun to bring back.

23

So, I am 23 today. Not a big deal because well, 23 isn't really that much different than 22 and I'm such a youngin' that I feel like everyone else is already 23. Since the birthday itself isn't much to talk about, I decided that today's post will be a list of 23 things about me:

In no particular order...
1. I am a sinner, saved by grace
2. I don't like green foods
3. My skin is fragrance-resistant
4. I am a list-making fiend
5. My favorite childhood memory is selling hickory nuts
6. I graduated with 32 other people in my senior class in high school
7. I am a hypochondriac
8. I have over-active salivary glands (see #7)
9. I really enjoy the company of adults- some times more than that of my peers
10. My idea of a perfect vacation is tons of reading and sleeping
11. ...But I am a homebody
12. I am a horrible decision maker and rely solely on my sister's decisiveness
13. In a past life I was a cheerleader (well, in this life, but it seems like it was a lifetime ago)
14. My favorite punctuation mark is the colon
15. I broke my hand on an 8 year-old girl's face
16. I want a malti-poo and might steal Matt Wilson's if he goes on vacation
17. I had 5 roommates in 4 semesters my first two years of college, but I promise I'm not a bad person
18. I hate cancer
19. My greatest accomplishment in life thus far is running a half marathon (without training)
20. I am a Type A, first born child to the "t"
21. I love Chattanooga and am amazed at how quickly it has become our home
22. I want to be a mentor
23. I love calling David my husband

Man, that was fun. Be looking for the continuation of that list because now I'm really cranking them out :)