Ok Ok Ok, Matt's Pictures

Allright so rumor has it that I did 2 rounds of P90X with Pam, well sort of just before the last one finished I injured my foot and had to spend 2 weeks on crutches and took an extra two weeks off. The second round I only did the strength workouts and none of the cardio work outs. So after 180 days here are my results I am up 15 lbs and mainly just feel awesome:



Since then we have finished our P90X and now we are moving on to a strength training program and here is my favorite move the Hang Clean & Press:



and not to be out done here is Pam doing them to! sorry for the shakyness but I just finished my set and was tired!



-Matt

My 106 hour work week

**WARNING THIS POST IS A RANT ABOUT MY JOB -Matt**

Phew, let me tell you some more about my Navy life. 3 weeks ago I was at work for 106 hours in 7 days, considering that there are only 168 hours in a week I pretty much hate my life in the Navy. Now lets also consider that my commute is 26 miles each way (because my ship moved from the Norfolk Station which is a mere 10 miles from me) and it takes and hour to get to and from work because of traffic, that sucks up about 10 more hours of my time.

Now let me tell you about what I am doing at work that is so important for me to stay there so much... well for about 18 hours any given week I sit and stare a indication panel that shows the status of the electric system, that is about the most rewarding part of my job right there... A majority of my time is spent sitting in a chair doing absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing, I stare at the wall, I stare at the clock, I wait to be tasked with something important... oh wait I just got tasked, sweet I get to hole punch 350 pages of paper! wow I am so awesome and talented... next task.. hmmm oh make 500 copies, then throw them all out because we changed our mind. sweet.. ok back to sitting and doing absolutely nothing.

Wait now it is time to clean... I have been assigned a 3 foot by 3 foot by 7 foot piece of the ship that I have to clean for 1 hour a day... hmm let me tell you that I pretty much could clean that little piece of the ship in about 2 minutes, but that doesn't mean I can stop... NO NO NO, must clean, and clean more, you're doing a good job if the paint starts coming off the wall because you clean it so much... hmmm is this hour over yet? Oh wait some Khaki wearing person has decided that we aren't cleaning hard enough, so we need to clean for two hours today... Sweet..

Awesome it is the end of the work day... I survived let me just check with my bosses to make sure I can leave to go home, since it is the end of the work day. Wait Wait Wait, the end of the work is the time when they assign us more work, so while I was sitting around all day doing absolutely nothing and could have been working no one bothered to tell us what really needed to be done. Instead they wait until 4pm and say "yea while the rest of the ship is going home right now you can leave until you do *insert dumb task here* and it needs to be perfect" ohh and this task could be accomplished by ONE person but we are going make all 12 of you stay just in case... Sweet...

Ah 6pm rolls around and we have finally completed said dumb task finally time to go home... Now I have to walk 2 1/2 miles to my car because the ship has no parking near it.. sweet... oh yea and the tunnel is backed up again... sweet...

ahh home at last it's 7pm did I mention that I left for work at 0500 this morning... sweet.. enough time to eat, kiss my wonderful wife, and go to bed to rinse wash and repeat the next day...

So welcome to my miserable life where I am essentially a slave, I mean before we leave on the weekends we have to fill out a sheet of paper that says what we are doing for the weekend... Are you serious, I am a 26 year old married man, and I have to fill out a weekend plan before I leave.... oh well I am done, just wanted to share with you my life, maybe next time I will write about how we waste thousands of your tax dollars everyday for no reason.

-Matt

I feel like I need to

Blog. It has been way too long. I think I've been in kind of a rut lately. Yes, I've lost weight. Yes, I look good. But, holy cow! I was exercising almost every day for the last 180 days! That takes a lot out of a person. And yet, since I've sort of been taking a break lately and starting a new routine, I've started to miss my daily workouts. Today, in fact, I decided I would actually "treat" myself to a little Kenpo action. And boy did I need it. That workout makes me sweat like crazy, and I just felt so much better afterward.

So, I got a weird email from a friend asking if I was going to be going to my high school reunion. Huh, well, since I haven't heard anything about it, I hadn't really planned on it. I have definite mixed feelings about the whole thing. Ten long years have gone by since high school, but I'm not sure if it has been long enough for me. I never felt like I belonged there, at least not until the very end of my senior year. Up to that point I felt like an outsider. Most of my classmates
a. were related,
or
b. had been together since Kindergarten.
It was really difficult for me to make friends. Which sucks, because I would have LIKED to have been friends with a lot of the kids in class. Maybe it was harder since there were 15 guys to 5 girls in the class (ok, so the numbers kind of changed as it went along, but that's how it started out). I guess I'm not saying that I didn't have ANY friends in high school, because now that I look back on it, I remember having good times with a lot of my classmates. It is just that, in the last 10 years, there are very few people I went to high school with that I've stayed in any sort of contact with. It might have to do with my changing belief system over the years. Or the fact that now I'm a navy vet and don't have a lot in common with the majority of the kids who stayed in ID, got married, had kids, whatever. But, regardless of all that, there is a part of me that wants to go back to Bancroft in my little red dress, and blow them all away with my smokin' hot body! (: You know what I mean? That, and the fact that I've been sort of successful: nuclear electrician, bachelor's degree, working on master's degree, homeowner, world traveler, that sort of thing. I feel like my life is exactly how I wanted it to be, even though in high school I wouldn't have been able to tell you how I wanted my life to be. In fact, I would have told you exactly what you expected to hear: marry an RM, have kids, blah, blah, blah. Not that I'm saying that life isn't good for others! It is! I'm just so happy with the way my life is right now (how many times can I say that in one blog post?) that I guess I never imagined my life to be this good. I never imagined that I could have such control over my life. That I could grow and make changes. I always thought that I was one way, and that was the way I was always going to be. Destined, I think is the word. Well, thank goodness I met Matthew Emerson, and he showed me that I can do ANYTHING and if I don't like something about myself (like my weight) then I can CHANGE it.

And if there's anything I've learned in my experience with Matthew and with my studies in developmental psychology (which has been sparse, but we get some in my education classes-must figure out how kids develop cognitively and socially, you know?) it is that we can always be better. There are always improvements we can make. Nothing is set in stone. Choice is yours. Take it!

Ok, well I stayed up exactly 1 hour later than I wanted to, but I still have plenty of time to get a good night's sleep before Matthew comes home from work and we start our next workout. I'm SO ready! :)

Good night everyone.
~Pam

6 Months into a New Life

Pam and I have changed our lives a lot this year, we have made fitness and health a priority and it has been wonderful. I would like to share with you Pam's pictures after round 2 of P90X.

She has worked so hard and pushed her self so far it is awe inspiring. For 95% of the days in this 6 months she woke up and sweated for an hour straight to achieve her results. She inspires me on a daily basis. I am proud of you sweetheart.

-Matt

PS: I forgot to mention she has worked off 1/3 of her body fat! The final measurements put her at 23.3% down from exactly 33.3% when she started, how awesome is that!

Has it been almost a month?

Since Penny got married? Wow, this month (June) went by so fast. Here's a rundown of the things we've been up to this month:

1. Penny's wedding in Spokane on June 6th
2. school, school, more school (including a 10 page paper I'm supposed to be working on right now)
3. Kate left on vacation, so I haven't seen the boys much in the last 3 weeks
4. Matt flew to Cali last weekend to take a Load Dispatcher test for the city of LA -cross your fingers. That would be an AWESOME job! (It was a really quick trip-fly in Friday, take test Saturday, fly back Sunday. Boy was he exhausted!)
5. I helped Rene Timmermann with fixing her house up after the previous tenants left a mess. Rene and I worked 81 hours together, from Sun 14 June to Mon 22 June, with Rene working an extra 11 hours by herself one day while I worked on an assignment. We cleaned, painted, mudded, sanded, fixed, and just made the house look better. The carpets were stained, but a friend loaned us a cleaner, and it was a miracle worker!

Anyways, other than working out, we haven't been doing much around here. We haven't had a chance to enjoy the beach weather yet, and the rest of my summer classes start up on Monday, so hopefully I'll be able to fit in at least a couple days at the beach this summer. It is so hard with Matt on 3-section duty to find the time. But we will, dang it!

I took pictures at Penny's wedding, and I'm still working on processing them and getting them looking as good as I can. Once I get this paper turned in I'll have a little bit more time to work on them.

I'm really glad Rene came out and could spend all that time with me. We had such good conversations (along with all our back-breaking work that we did). It is good to know that you have friends that you can remain close to, even if you don't see them for years at a time. Or just once a year, as it has happened with me and the Timmermanns. Well, I guess when we move across the country we'll be closer and hopefully will be able to visit a lot more. I miss you already, Rene!

Anyways, let me put my nose to grindstone and knock out the rest of this paper. I've done 7 of the 10 pages already, let's see if I can just finish it up. (I'm procrastinating, can't you tell?)

~Pam

PS. Matt and I officially have a weightlifting room. I'll take pictures of it when I find my camera battery charger (I CAN'T find that thing ANYWHERE!) and show you guys what an awesome deal we got on all of the equipment. :) We're planning on experimenting with different techniques after we finish with the current round of P90X, which will end in 2 weeks. Then...look out! :)

I am continually {amazed}

Ok, so all day today I've been a little stressed out about getting my scores back. A couple months ago, I took 2 tests that were very important to my future in education. In order for me to begin student teaching, I needed to take 2 tests: the VRA and the VCLA (along with the Praxis 2 that I had already taken). I decided to take them both on the same day, and then I seriously doubted that that was a good move. I met several people the day of the test that were taking one or the other test for the 3rd or 5th time! I began to worry, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do.

Well, today the {unofficial} scores came out via email at 5pm. I was grocery shopping when my alarm went off to remind me to check my email. I got home, put away the groceries, and tried to to remain calm. I logged in, and here's what I found:

Test Date: 05/16/2009

PAM H EMERSON
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 23455

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading Subtest: Standard: 235 Your Score: 288

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Writing Subtest: Standard: 235 Your Score: 272

----------------------------------------------------------------------

VCLA Total Test: Minimum Passing Score: 470
Highest Total Score: 560

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Highest Achieved
Subtest Scaled Score Test Date
Reading Subtest 288 05/16/2009
Writing Subtest 272 05/16/2009

VCLA Status: Passed

Test: Virginia Reading Assessment for Elementary and Special Education
Your Score: 265
Minimum Passing Scaled Score: 235
Status: Passed


So, what does that mean? Well, I definitely DON'T have to take those two tests again. Now, I know what most of you are thinking: "Pam, why do you EVER worry? You always do well!" But, hey, there's always that little voice in the back of my mind that is unsure. I'm just so, oh, I don't know, RELIEVED would be a good word. You should have seen me. I was doing the famous Matthew Happy Dance (probably only Matt will know what that looks like). When I finally calmed down enough, I decided to share with you all my good news. Now, aren't you glad I shared?? :)

Oh, and I finally figured out how to put a {heart} into my text.

♥

So there!

~Pam

Penny's wedding

Ok, so right now I'm sitting in Penny's basement, listening to the rain fall. Thankfully, this is the first time since I got here that it has rained so much, so we're all pretty grateful for that. So, anyone want to hear about my whirlwind weekend? (Sorry, no pictures yet. They need to be processed, but when they're done, I'll post some :)

Ok, so I got here on Thursday afternoon, after a long, long, long day of traveling. Actually, I woke up at 330am to work out with Matt, then rushed to the airport, only to find out that I was flying a different airline than I thought. Finally got on the plane, flew to DC, then flew to Seattle, then flew into Spokane. Mike met me at the airport, and Penny was home by the time I got there. We had a really enjoyable evening, Mike BBQed for us, and although I got to bed really late (10pm PST, which is 1am EST) I slept really well, and was refreshed in the morning. I got up at 530 when Penny's alarm went off, and decided to do a workout (Plyometrics). That really helped me sweat all the toxins out from flying and I felt really good. After the workout, we all got ready and headed to Kohl's for some dress shopping. Yes, I helped Penny pick out her dress, and also Mike pick out his outfit. I don't know why, but it is so much more fun shopping for someone else. Just like it is more fun to clean someone else's house. Which is what we did after we got done shopping. We scrubbed, and cleaned, and the house looked awesome by the time the first of the siblings started to arrive. Jill and Demarko were first, after they picked up Peggy from the airport (that was a surprise!). Gwen and Tansy flew in, and Peggy and I drove to the airport to pick them up. Then Mom, Kate, and Beth got here. Along with Mike's family. Everyone left to check into the hotel, and Mike headed out to get KFC, and Matt and Brittany drove in. We had a great meal, then lots of talking while Peggy attempted to straighten Penny's hair. In the dark. Outside. :) We stayed out until it started to rain, and then everyone gathered in the house for more visiting. Finally, everyone headed to their hotels, and Gwen, Tansy, and I made up our beds and hit the sack.
Saturday morning dawned bright and early. 530 early. (I think we East Coasters were still on Eastern time) We made some pasta salad, did Penny's nails, and then Penny and I were convinced to head over to the hotel so Penny could get her hair redone. I took pictures of her getting ready, and we'll see how those turn out. Before we knew it, it was almost time for the wedding, and Penny, Mom, Peggy, and I hurried over to the park. Where it was nice and sunny, but cool and windy. The tables were AWESOME! Everything was just getting set up, guests were arriving, and everyone looked so good! It was so much fun! I took pictures during the brief ceremony, which went quite well, I think, and then we did some group shots. I had Rene (yes, Matt and Rene Timmermann, some of my best friends in the whole world, drove over from Seattle to come to the wedding and visit with me :) take the big group shots. She did really well. Reception followed with lots of food, visiting, and having a good time. If it wasn't so cold, it would have been perfect. After we ate some yummy hamburgers, hotdogs, cornbread salad, broccoli salad, pasta salad, chips and salsa, we had a group game of trivial pursuit. That game, I think, will go down in Helm Family History. Longest game ever! But it was a really close match, and we all had fun, I think. Next came the cake, and then we packed it all up and went our respective ways. My plan was to stay with Matt and Rene for the night, and we got Gwen and Tansy a room in the same hotel for dirt cheap. Gwen, Tansy and I let Matt and Rene get some studying done, and we headed over to everyone else's hotel for some more visiting time. We ended up walking around, seeing the gorgeous Spokane River, and riding on the Carousel. Then we had some dinner, where Beth was serenaded by the staff (it was her birthday) and Jill passed out some letters and such that we hadn't seen in a long time. Fun times! Lots of spilled water glasses, for some reason.

Let's see, then we went back to the hotel and jumped into the hot tub. I think it closed at 11pm, but we stayed until almost midnight. I think we intimidated them too much! :) I said my goodbyes to everyone (ok, almost everyone. I thought for some reason that I would see Matt and Brit, Jill and Demarko the next day. BUt I didn't. SOrry guys!) Then I drove Gwen, Tansy and me back to the hotel and I crashed in Rene and Matt's room. WEll, Rene kept me up talking for a bit. ANd then I was awakened by the alarm at 530 (what IS it with me and alarms at 530???) I finally figured out how to turn it off, and went back to sleep. WE woke up, decided to get some breakfast, and then we packed up and headed out to do the same awesome "Bridge Walk" that I had done with the family. I thought it was going to rain on us, so I didn't take any pictures. BUt, lo and behold, the sun came out, and it was GORGEOUS! We enjoyed ourselves, and then we had lunch, and then went back to Penny's. I didn't want to say goodbye to them, but they REALLY needed to go. It is finals week for them, and they needed to get some stuff done. I miss them already! (Lucky for me, Rene's coming to visit next week, so I get to spend some more time with her!) Penny and Jen and Mike (Jen is Mike's sister) and I hung out for the afternoon, watched some Twilight, then ate dinner, then watched Bolt, and then made some S'more's and went to bed. Full day!

This morning, I did some yoga, and I feel a million times better. Even though Yoga is 1.5 hours, I always feel like I did something good for myself, and I feel like I've been rejuvenated. :)

Our plan for today is:
1. shower---check!
2. eat----check!
3. laundry------check!
4. watch movie, UP!-----soon
5. get lunch
6. hang out
7. airport at 7pm.

We'll see how it goes. It is rainy and cold, did I mention that yet? But we're still going to enjoy ourselves. Now that everyone is gone, it is just me and Penny.

Well, that's about it. SOrry I don't have pictures. Hopefully others in my family took some pics and they'll post them for us.

I'll write more when I get home.

I miss Matt.

Pam