January Fun

YAY for Road Trips! Especially random ones through random states...
I spent Presidents Day weekend in the Midwest! It was a little spontaneous trip that turned out to be a blast. I headed first to Indiana where Bethany and I met up with Judy, stayed there one night and then we hit the road...here are some highlights :).
It was -16 degrees when we left Fort Wayne, Indiana...check out the snow-covered Indiana as we drove...

We lasted about 10 minutes playing in the snow the night we arrived...we were determined to make a snowman, but alas, the snow was too powdery...
On the road, one of our BIG goals was to see the GIANT BASKET! That's right in Newark, Ohio, the Longaberger Basket Company has a 7-story office shaped like a basket!
AWESOME...
We stopped for lunch in Zanesville, Ohio to visit with my grandparents and aunt. It was a blessing to see them, I love them so much...

We arrived in Pennsylvania after a memorable trip across Indiana, Ohio & a little bip into West Virginia...good times, random sights and good laughs. We arrived and stayed the rest of our long weekend with dear college friends, Kimi and Mike who live just outside of Lancaster, PA. This is the whole group :).
We played as the snow fell...
It was a beautiful, cold, snowy weekend...we visited all over Amish country, downtown Lancaster, and Hershey, PA.
Celebrated Kimi's Birthday!
Visited Hershey's CHOCOLATE WORLD...that's right...a free ride of how chocolate is made with a free sample at the end? And then a giant gift shop with every Hershey candy known to man? Good times indeed...


It was a great weekend to catch up with family and friends. Thank you, Kimi and Mike for hosting us, I am so thankful for your friendship. Can't wait for us all to be together again!
Thus ends my little excursion in January...the end :)
~Em

The Best Mac-n-Cheese Ever

That's right people, if there's one thing you need to know about me...I love food. Good food :).
I want to give a little shout-out to my mom for making the best Macaroni and Cheese that I've ever tasted (and yes, it's so good and i'm such a food geek that I took a picture!).
Today was a long day- I spent 14 hours in a hospital room at USC participating in a clinical trial for Cystic Fibrosis. I signed up for this study knowing that the first day was the longest- I took the drug and then they took blood samples throughout the day so I hung out, watched some DVDs (big thanks and hugs to Kim who graciously kept me company!), and was a guinea-pig for this new drug that could possibly help aid inflammation in the lungs. I'm saying a little prayer that this study produces good results thus helping CF patients worldwide :).

...AND after a long day at USC eating hospital food, I was SO glad to come home and eat some fabulous macaroni, it was such a treat...
~Em