New Food Blog

I'm super excited to announce the launch of a passion project of mine and the Boo's...our new food blog!!! If you'll recall the Boo is a sensational chef. And me? Well I'm just a fat ass masquerading as a self proclaimed foodie. But that's neither here nor there. The point is, my man has some made some amazing things over the years and we thought it was high time we unleash his mouth watering culinary goodness to the masses.

So hop on over to our blog for lots of yummy recipes, food porn, and of course, your daily dose of sarcasm from yours truly. Your waist line might not thank you for it, but we sure will!

The Big Black Hole of Maternity Leave

As my maternity leave (sadly) comes to a close, I reflect back on my blissfully delusional pregnant days when I actually had the audacity to think that I would get tons of stuff accomplished on my leave.

On my list of things to do were:

• Reorganize the closets
• Frame and hang all of the wedding and baby pictures
• Read multiple books
• Watch the first 2 seasons of Gossip Girl on DVD
• Learn to knit (ha!)
• Clean the house thoroughly twice a week
• Make more freezer meals for when I go back to work
• Send out thank you cards for baby gifts

What actually got accomplished:

• Played with Beetle (Our name for sweet baby Quinn. Don’t ask. Somehow it stuck.)
• Danced around the room with Beetle.
• Sang “Part of Your World” to Beetle more times that I can count.
• Changed multiple “exploders.” (Thank you, Beetle.)
• Pumped and fed Beetle.
• Made silly faces and repeated everything twice (in Mommy voice) to Beetle.
• Washed the poop filled clothes from aforementioned exploder. (Thanks again, Beet!)
• Pumped and fed Beetle some more.
• Listened to more lullaby songs on Pandora then ever thought humanly imaginable.
• Pumped and fed Beetle yet again.
• Cried because it all went by too fast and I literally did nothing

Honestly I don’t know who I thought I was kidding with that to do list. I guess as a first time mom I had no idea how time consuming a baby could be. I thought surely there would be some down time. But alas, I was wrong, as per usual.

I didn’t reorganize the closets or frame and hang the pictures. I didn’t clean the house, watch Gossip Girl, make freezer meals or even send out thank you cards. I barely managed to squeeze in a weekly shower (yes, weekly!) much less teach myself to knit. (That is just so laughable it’s embarrassing.)

But you know what, I wouldn’t do a thing differently. I got to spend the last 12 weeks with my amazing little girl. Watching her grow so quickly right before my eyes. Experiencing the world with her as she discovered it for the first time. And that is more rewarding than any thing on that to do list.

Except maybe a cute knitted baby beanie.

Kidding!! (Kind of.)

Baby Survival Tip #384

Never look directly into the eyes of a sleepy baby. Your direct eye contact is like a line of cocaine immediately alerting their brain to wake up and play leaving you to hover helplessly in chair pose over a moving swing for the next 90 minutes all while pleading with your 12 week old to "go to sleep already." Silver lining: My thighs are now incredibly toned.

Trial By Fire

In my last blog (aka my Lazarus like rise from the dead) I revealed some major things that have happened since you last heard from me. Namely, I had a kid.

Seriously, what was the man upstairs thinking when he decided I would make a suitable parent? I’m pretty sure if nothing else this blog has served as a forum of overwhelming proof that I am by no means the most understanding, patient, or forgiving person on the planet. C’mon we all remember my previous posts about binge drinking, neglecting to pay my bills and picking unwarranted fights with the Boo. Granted I have grown up a wee bit since then (ahem) but still. Anyone who has previously conducted their life in such a manner and does so with such overwhelming sarcasm and complete disregard for the way in which it affects others should by no means be responsible for raising another human being.

My point being…I hope I don’t screw this kid up.

When we first found out I was pregnant it was a complete shock to the Boo and I. It was definitely a surprise but a good one at that. (And no, there is no cute story about how I lovingly revealed my positive pee stick in a wrapped up jewelry box with a bow on top. True to form, I simply ran into the living room in my Hanes night shirt, disheveled hair and morning breath and announced “Holy Shit! I’m pregnant!” Classy, eh?)

But after the initial excitement and Facebook proclamations had worn off, the anxiety set in. How in the hell was I going to pull this off? Was I honestly capable of carrying, birthing and raising a precious baby girl without scarring her for life? I mean, let’s face it, she’s already got the short end of the stick to begin with since she is carrying my DNA and all it’s proclivity to facial hair, thick thighs and the inability to think before speaking. But more so, was there anyway I could not mentally scar this child with my complete and utter lack of knowledge and sarcastic, sometimes caustic, demeanor?

And then I saw her.



Quinn Isabella was born on October 30, 2011 and the instant they laid her on my chest I knew I would figure it out. Yes, it may be trial by fire. Yes, I may suck a big one at first. And yes, there may be times when I make my 12 week old baby do inappropriate booty shaking dances from BET music videos but that’s neither here nor there.

The point is she’s mine. She has my eyes, my blood and, God bless her, my DNA. Without even trying she’s already taken over my entire heart and filled it up with slobbery kisses and toothless grins. Without even trying I know I will raise her as best as I know how and hopefully she will grow into the beautiful young woman I know she’s destined to be.

The other night I laid on the bed just staring at her as she played. She was exploring the world around her and when I bent down and kissed her I didn’t get a grin. She rolled her eyes at me.

She is so my daughter.

Well, Hello There

Anyone remember me? Most likely not. It's only been 2 years.

(Embarrassing!)

I'm still alive but my life is a bit different. Since my last post I lost 49 pounds, the Boo and I got married, built and bought our own house, I (gained all the weight back plus some when I) got knocked up, and we had a baby!! Crazy, right?!?!

So here I am once again, on bended knee, begging you few remaining faithful readers o mine (Can you hear the echo? Cause there's no one out there) to give me another chance. I promise I won't leave you high and dry again. I have a baby now so you KNOW the possibility for embarrassing, ridiculous, incredibly sarcastic blog fodder is endless.

And c'mon...you know you missed me.

Engagement Pics are Here!!

Just a little preview until we get the full disc. More to come!

Emily and Ryan's Engagement Photos from Emily Rearick on Vimeo.

Where to Unleash My Inner Tyra?

When we first got engaged I knew there were some things that I wanted that we probably couldn’t afford. Among those were engagement pictures, a videographer, and a month long honeymoon in Italy. (What? A girl can dream, right?) But I knew our budget wasn’t huge (not tiny either but not Platinum Wedding size) and I’d resigned myself to forgoing these far away dreams.

So imagine my excitement when I first realized that our amazing, wonderful, incredibly talented photographer (who you’ll learn more about later) could actually offer us an engagement shoot at a crazy low price when we booked her for our wedding as well.

I. Was. Thrilled.

And now our scheduled shoot is almost upon us and we have a major problem. We haven’t decided where we want to have them taken. The Boo and I have tossed around a few ideas but are obnoxiously indecisive on this topic for some reason so I turn to you dear readers. Let’s go over some options shall we?

First off, there’s Uptown Charlotte.

(Source for above two)

(Source for above photos)

We initially decided to move here because of the big city atmosphere and we fell in love with Uptown on our first visit a little over a year ago. The architecture, the streets, the whole vibe of being in the heart of our new city. I dig it. So those are the pros. Now the cons: I really love the skyline at night and I’m not too sure I would be as thrilled if I didn’t get a single shot of the high rises all lit up. Oh or the train station. Like this.

(Source)

Also, there could be a lot of people out on a Saturday afternoon/early evening so I’m not sure how dorky we might feel. Things to consider, people.

Next, there’s one of the lakes (Lake Wylie or Lake Norman.)

(Source for all above)

These are gorgeous for obvious reasons and there are really no cons other than I’m not sure if our photographer would drive out that far. I bet she would though cause she’s super kick ass.

Finally, there’s your average public park. (This one is actually Freedom Park and not so "average" but let's roll with it.)

(Source for all above)

I’m thinking this could be hit or miss. We might luck out and find some gorgeous nature trails and benches to shoot at. Or there could be 37 young, screaming children running amuck, throwing dirt, and causing utter chaos. You never know.

So which do you think we should choose? Or is there somewhere else I haven’t mentioned that we should check out? Let me have it!