#270 according to photo booth

i woke up one morning to find "this" on my couch.

"this" would be my roommate, gemma germine. 

 as a matter of fact, i did watch her for about 20 secs to verify that she was in fact breathing.

 then, after paint exploding over my face--or just the fact that i look like a pubscent teen with horrible acne, you decide, I took a few pictures of gemma and i, in our most attractive state of being.

 cottage cheese. naturally the most commonly used prop for a picture.

 watch where you are pointing that fork gemma.

 they should have placed on the warning labels of paint that is usually tends to make people obnoxious, crazy, and immature, all at the same time.

okay, okay, i know what you are thinking. but just please...don't hate me because i am beautiful.

celebration of the escape from the womb (19 years later)

12.05.92 and 12.05.11 was a fantastic day. and every december fifth in between has also been fabulous.

i would feel weird doing a self-absorbed post of myself (oh, wait, i do all the time...) but just to record for history sake, i want to remember why it was so memorable, and say a loving and forever THANK YOU for everyone who helped make my birthday special, and made me feel love, and most of all for those who have helped shaped me these past 19, and most of all to my mother who was willing to have children and sacrifice so much of herself to raise me and bring me into this world. Thank You doesn't even touch the surface of the love and admiration I have for my mother and father. So....thank you. 

Sunday night: I was able to have Lynette & Jennie (our 2nd cousin) Lewis over for dinner, and then we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional together. It was bliss to hang out with them. I made them my birthday dinner including my favorite items of food: couscous salad with chips (easier version of cafe rio), sweet potato fries, chicken and a green salad. my roommate Hannah brought this tree and decor, and we had a blast setting it up. we danced to christmas music and hung lights on our window. 

christmas is magical. 

Jennie brought hot chocolate, and I made an apple pie,  because lets be real here, who actually likes cake?

monday, the fifth. was absolute bliss. roommates gave me rides to and from school which is a beautiful thing when the weather is 15 degrees. my friend announced my birthday in my new testament class, entirely against my will, and turns out it was my professors birthday too. (and this isn't just any professor, this my absolute favorite religion professor that i had for Book of Mormon and he's helping me prep for the seminary program). 

conner, my friend since we were 6mo. old, brought me hot chocolate and a donut to anthropology, which was just splendid, since i didn't have time for breakfast that morning. 

someone offered to work for me, which was just a wonderful break. I studied for most of the day in the library and then cousin Harrison took me to the cannon center for lunch. I went back to the library for more studying, and once i start falling asleep at the computer, i decided to walk home, and Gemma picked me as she saw me walking. 

i came home to a package from my favorite family in Washington, the Vances. I almost just cried looking at the box, but then i opened it and of course my heart melted with the sweet inside joke items and a few darling decorated cards by my neices and nephews. my favorite was from bryson. it was completely blank and on the inside said: love, bryson. precious :)

i also got a sweet card from my mom and dad! Thanks so much again for the Thomas S. Monson book. I love love love it!

my favorite part of the day was when my siblings called and left messages of their kids singing happy birthday. it was the best. thanks for thinking of me fam!

my roommates were so kind to take me out to dinner that night to California Pizza Kitchen. It was delicious. And free ice cream sundae is a plus always a plus!

then we came home, and i thought i was having the best birthday ever, until i walked in and there were surprise guests waiting for me. i'm pretty sure my pulse has calmed since then, but i was so surprised. i'm quite certain that my brother Crismon and I are the most oblivious people on this earth.

that was so sweet of them. they put up streamers, ballons, signs, and made brownies (my favorite). 

cousin Harrison, summer roommates Sami, Amber (and Sara dropped by later), cousin Lynette, and friends Jorgen and Craig. 

the 19th most valuable wish of my life. (do you see the M&M's spelling Emily? Lynette is the best!)

I seriously was overwhelmed by all the love and kindness everyone gave to me. It seriously was one of the best birthdays ever. I am so lucky to have such great friends and family who care so much about me. I am so grateful to be here--and to celebrate life on earth! 

thank you again. 

have the happiest of day, everyday.

domesticity: how to make almond milk

if any of you know my name, lewis, you know that i love chocolate, newspaper, but most of all milk.
my dad was raised on a dairy, so by default my family raised me on the delicacy of milk, and i dare say, we never ate a meal without milk.
although, milk is not extremely budget friendly for the amount i consume. I swear, I keep the byu creamery in business because of number of gallons i buy. i'll always buy extra, just for good measure.

i've been trying to switch over to a life-style that allows me to connect with my inner-hippie-ness, since i hail from the great roots of Portland, Oregon. So now i believe in doing everything homemade. hence, the almond milk. (okay, sorta just kidding)

let 1 Cup of Almonds soak in water for 8 hours or overnight. 

rinse them off well in a strainer

place the 1 C of Almonds in the blender with 4 cups of water, 1/4 tsp. of Salt, 1/2 tsp. of Vanilla and a spoonful of honey. (I wish i would have added another spoonful of honey or a couple spoonfuls of sugar.)

Blend very well. My blender (since its a real cheap one) ran for maybe like 4 mins. on high.

once everything is blended really well. place your nut milk bag (you can purchase one here) in a large bowl and begin pouring the milk from the blender into the bag. I poured it in the bag 1/2 of the blender at a time. The really small almond chunks will not strain through so you squeeze the bag and get as much milk out as you can. Once that is complete...you're done!

basically why i love doing this so much, is because i know exactly what is going into what i am eating. 

nuts are rather expensive, so i need to break down the costs exactly to see if its worth it, but i like knowing that i made this myself and that it is safe, healthy, and nutritious. 

enjoy!

my breakfast, lunch, oh, and dinner too

In 2 weeks I'll be living the college life.
So, what does that mean.
It means i'll probably have a diet consisting of cookies and cereal.
Ideal right? My two favorite foods put together.

Last Friday, I (with some help) put on a  YSA Ping Pong Tournament, and so, doing my civic duty, I made cookies to eat. And holy hannah, they were good.

The source of the recipe comes from Dana from MADE.

*the key though is to add LOTS and LOTS of chocolate chips!

bon apetite!

I had every intention...

 Let the record show that I had every intention to make  a fabulous homecooked meal tonight for dinner.Truly. When your mother is the champion nurterer, where every homecooked meal tastes delicious...you begin to miss her the minute she leaves. I am evidence of that.
So my intentions for tonight to be a great homecooked meal were just a bit too much.

Let me tell you of tonights series of events.
I got caught up in practicing the piano too long, before I realized I needed to go babysitting and dad had  a church meeting. Problem #1, already behind schedule before I even started.
Problem #2, what in the heck was I going to make. Keep in mind, we have a very limited supply of food since, when you are being self-reliant for the first time, you realize all the things you SHOULD HAVE bought at the store instead of the two packages of Klondikes and brownie mix, (not like I'm speaking from previous experience or anything). Problem #3, even if I did have an idea of what I was going to make, I most likely wouldn't know where to begin. (i hope you are seeing my dilema here!)

I decided to throw any rules or lessons I had learned on cooking out the window and just began pulling things out of the freezer and fridge until SOMETHING could be edible. I warmed up the stove, placed a skillet straight on with some boneless chicken breasts on the skillet (with no oil or water). bad idea. I might have lost a few brain cells in the process as I inhaled all that smoke. Than, I grabbed some potatoes, scrubbed them, peeled them and warmed them in the microwave. Why didn't anyone tell me that they would just get harder instead of softer. I kept warming it up, over and over again with no success. Than in my deperateness, I did what any wise, normal girl would do. Call my mother. "Mom, how the heck do I warm up potatoes!?" (yeah, i know, its pretty much as bad as asking your mom had to boil water. Yes, you can mock me for it later.) She told me to just cut up the potatoes and save for tomorrow. Great. Than I realized we had crescent rolls in the fridge. Popped those out and baked them in the oven (probably the only successful edible food we ate---of course, it would be prepackaged, no wonder it tasted better than anything i made).

So I screwed the skillet attempt, and plopped those pieces of animal on the george forman. In the mean time, I thought it would be valuable time to do the dishes from....who knows when, and clean up what used to be the table. If you walked in, you wouldn't really be able to tell it was with all the papers and junk piled on top.
Than I remembered that we needed more food than JUST rolls and chicken. I ripped---and literally---ripped the frozen pea bag open, so much that half of them went all over the stove rolling around. I furiously tried to gather them up all up with my hands--only to have forgotten that the stove was still heated from that stupid skillet attempt. Yes, this is where you shake your head and laugh at my stupidity.

Than I began cleaning again, only to have forgotten about the chicken--so that was more than cooked. I placed chicken and peas on plates and realized they looked alittle bear. So I pulled out spinach and lettuce. Sure enough, between the few meals dad and I have made, we have forgotten to use the lettuce, so that was going bad. Than, I decided to peel some oranges. And in the process managed to spray orange juice ALL over my new shirt, and getting THIS close to slicing my hand half open with the knife.

At this point, I just began laughing. Seriously. I could barely manage to do any of this, yet my mother has done it everyday for 36 years with out fail....and frankly, more gracefully as well.

And as I ate my dinner  I realized I had every intention to clean the house today too. Or change the load of towels that have been sitting in the dryer....since, oh, Monday morning.

Yes. This is the glamorous life I lead.
No. I will never be as good as my mother,
but hopefully I can say I always had good intentions.
Because lets face it, there really is no hope for me. :)

you know when....

....you are really excited for college when your cookbook comes in the mail!

Especially, for a girl that can't cook. 

I was so excited, I even slept with it last night. 

Call me crazy....but I'm stoked. 

And ....my backpack JUST came in the mail too!

No more embarrassing moments with my backpack from now on.

And, the novelty of everything is that is is...NEW. 

NEW. NEW. NEW.

A rare luxury that doesn't happen often around these parts, since my family is all about reduce, reuse, recycle. If you don't understand, I'll help you out. 

Problem: First grade, i needed new shoes since the hand-me-down pairs where falling apart. Solution: Dad used copious amounts of shoe glue and duct tape.

Problem: Hand me down jeans were way too long on my short legs in elem. school. 

Solution: Mom pinning them with safety pins as I'm eating breakfast.

Problem: Not enough cups, bowls for family

Solution: use yogurt containers as cups

Problem: Doing dishes, putting away food after dinner, you would think through something away if there's only a small amount left....WRONG.

Solution: Mother saving every scrap of uneaten food. One day I'll understand.

Problem: Not enough diapers for children growing up...with 9 children, thats expected

Solution: wrap them in newspapers, there was more than enough to go around...

our family a living newspaper reading machine.

The Lewis Family is the reason why Recycling is a law in Oregon. 

just sayin...

the world record for the fast class ever

today is fantastic. which frankly, its not too hard to be fantastic when the sun is shining and you actually have to use the AC button for the first time in 8 months.

last night I got home from a church activity around 9:30, and i was tired, so being the lazy one i am, I just slept in my clothes. I got up this morning, and in the process of dressing for school, i put on sweats. Go figure right?

It was my short day at school (short day=1 class). I didn't bother to put any make up on, or do my hair, or take a second look in the mirror...lets face it, who am i trying to impress at school....no one.

I get to my IB Biology class, only to find a sub, in otherwords, when you see a sub, you run for your life, because there are so many other things you could spend your time doing than be under the non-watchful eye of a sub. his job is so hard, i pity the man.

My brilliant Biology teacher pre-recorded his lecture of notes on his computer so that we could listen and write down what we needed to learn that day. After that was done, we had the rest of class (1 hr and 5 mins) to work on a project. Sure enough, the guy that has our project on his computer wasn't there. So...we had nothing to do.

Thats when i said, screw it, i'm leaving. It was a very thought-out, mechanical process, if you will. I used the back door that leads to a labish/storage room, that leads into another classroom, I walked through that class room, down the hall, down some stairs, out through the doors that would eventually lead me to the parking lot. Brilliant.

So, I went to school for 15 mins today. And I loved it.

I wish i could do that everyday.

I came home. I cleaned. I made meatloaf (HOLLA!). I cleaned more. And than had a school meeting. and went grocery shopping. Ha, and my parents worry about my survival during college....well, that is nonsense!


So....in all, it was a great day. And to make your day even better, watch this awesome movie about spreading kindess and charity all around. Have you ever thought about it...to be kind and charitable is FREE! SO WHY DON'T WE DO IT MORE OFTEN!?

Fun fact: 38 DAYS UNTIL MY FIRST DAY OF COLLEGE.
someone catch me, I think i'm going to pass out!

oh my life right now.

do you see this....i MADE it....with my bare hands.

it was Friday night. emily had a really hot date. oh wait, scratch that. I was home, with momsie and popsie in my sweats and salvation army ugly sweater that i wore for my ugly sweater party. when mom returned from the grocery store, she ordered me to make homemade pizza. i'm pretty sure she said it would be good for me. so after neglecting the responsibility for 2 hours, i decided to look up a recipe. how come no one told me the dough needed to rise for a total of 2 hours! so in the process of making it, i decided that making it rise twice must be some minor technicality, so i skipped the step and went forward. when i came to another step i was unsure about, i called mom, no answer, i called meredith, no answer (really, I called them multiple times hoping the more and more i called they would answer.) no luck. so i bet on my lucky stars and kept working on the pizza. and voila!  it didn't turn out too bad! it wasn't papa johns worthy status, but it was definitely edible. and to me, if its edible, than theres nothing wrong with it. that might explain why i've ate this pizza everyday for the past five days. and i decided to go back to my elementary school days and dip it in ranch. and despite what you may think, i will never go back. it was so good. in fact, it might be what that pizza needed--especially for the crust. so, three claps for emily for attempting to be domestic and getting over her fears of cooking! college, should be a cinch!

________________________________________________________________________________________

finals update: 3 down, 3 to go. I should be lucky to get 3 A's this semester due to my recent lack of motivation. but...to leave you with a good quote for the day. 

"Buid you lives on a foundation of truth and righteousness. It is the only foundation that will stand the pressures of this life and endure through the eternities."

-Elder L. Tom Perry

need more inspirational quotes...go here

what i'm dreaming of

did this just make your mouth water alittle bit? yeah. mine did too. I REALLY want to make them....but knowing that mom leaves tomorrow means i'll have little to no self control. So i'm saving to make them at thanksgiving where I don't feel any part guilty indulging in a few extra calories. Okay, now that i've all made you dying to make them...i'm going running. :)


find recipe here on my most favorite blog ever!