Guys Behind the Blog // November

Justin is so stoked to answer this set of questions: it's all about sports!

1. What sports did you participate in as a child? What sports did you watch growing up?

When I was a kid I exclusively played basketball.  I played volleyball all throughout high school, but basketball was my childhood.  My whole family was associated with basketball at one point or another in their lives.  My basketball career ended in middle school, however.  I was a bigger kid, and played mostly power forward and small forward.  I learned to play mostly from my dad (who stands at 6'4'' and could easily line up as an offensive lineman in pro football), so I tried to play big like he did.  I was a good jumper and rebounder and I always had a few steals a game, but I couldn't shoot, I was slow, and couldnt dribble well, so I typically stayed in the paint, and I did okay.  Well, come middle school, everyone had their growth spurts (myself included), but everybody else's spurts were larger than mine.  So there I was, jogging onto the court as a 13 yr old and the coach lined me up at shooting guard.  Try as I did, it is very hard to box out and post up a 6'4 kid when you are 5.5'.  Needless to say, my basketball career ended there.  My jumping skills were put to use once I went to volleyball in high school, and that's where I've been.

Growing up, watching sports was always a father-son thing for me.  My dad and I would sit on the couch, eating popcorn and unbaked brownie batter, and we would watch the Utah Jazz, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Chicago Bulls.  My parents are from Utah and I was born in Chicago, and we were living in Pennsylvania at the time. Football season would come around and we would watch Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers and we also watch a lot of the Philadelphia Eagles.  We didn't watch a lot of baseball, but we would watch it on occasion.

I'm looking forward to reliving those memory with my own son.

2. If you could line up your ideal Super Bowl, who would be facing off, where would they play and who would you pick to win?

Ideal Superbowl?  Well, first off, it would be held on a Saturday.  It would be the the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks again.  Only this time, the Broncos would win.

3. Do you prefer the summer or winter Olympics? If you could participate in one Olympic sport, what would it be?

I love the Olympics, either one has its perks.  I love watch Hockey, Bobsledding  and Snowboarding in the winter, and in the summer I love the watching volleyball and most of the sprinters and swimmers.

If I could compete in the Olympics, I would love to play on the US Curling team.  Yup, thats right, curling.  Why you ask?  Well, its probably the only Olympic sport where you can eat a pizza and not have to run 10 miles to burn it off.

Although, regardless of my abilities, bobsledding would probably be the funnest thing in the world.

4. What is your favorite food to eat at a sports party (ex: World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, etc.)?

Any variation of chips and salsa.  It can be just chips and salsa, it can be nachos, it can be taco stew, as long as there is tortilla chips and spicy red sauce to dip it in, then I'm sold.

My roommates and I once performed and experiment to see if it was possible to get full eating nothing but chips and salsa.  Its not.  Well, we say its not, mainly because we ran out.  But we still could eat more given the resources.

5. Who is your all time favorite athlete and why?

DISCLAIMER:  UTAH FANS BE WARNED!!!

Hardest part about being born and living in Chicago and having family from Utah during the 90s?  This series.

Go ahead, call it a push off,

He's still the best

May Blogger Men Tell All & Guys Behind the Blog

We're combining both guy linkups again, so enjoy getting to know my awesome, amazing husband more!

Would you rather…

1. Watch Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars.  I grew up going to the theater with my Dad watching the re-releases of Star Wars in the 90's and it was some of the best memories of my childhood.  Star Trek only got interesting for me with the recent releases.

2. Take a summer vacation in the mountains or the beach?
Difficult question.  I love the beach and I love the mountains, but both have things I really dislike.  I probably like the beach more, but after 1 day I'm done, whereas I could be in the mountains for weeks.

3. Use Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook.  I have a twitter, but I haven't touched in in literally months.  I liked the concept of it, but not the execution.  Plus, I've gone through so many types of social media over the years, I've kind of settled on Facebook and maybe LinkedIn and called it quits.  I did a blog, a Xanga, Myspace, toyed with Google+.  There's too much.  Facebook is fine, and when I'm looking for a job, LinkedIn.  That's good for me.

4. Go camping or stay in a nice hotel?
Depends.  I love camping, but a nice hotel has a lot of perks.  It all depends on what I was doing that day or the next.

5. Watch sports or play sports?
Baseball - Play
Football - Watch and Play
Basketball - Watch and Play
Volleyball - Play
Hockey - Watch
Olympic Events - Watch
Golf - Play
Rugby - Watch
Soccer - Neither

1 // What is your favorite family tradition?
Large breakfasts.  My dad would make pancakes until he was tired.  He expects all of them to be eaten.  There were seldom leftovers.

2 // Who's your male celebrity crush?
Probably Nathan Fillion.

3 // What song best sums you up?
So, this is actually really hard.  I've spent a few days trying to find a good one, but most of the music I listen to is rather hard rock-ish stuff whose lyrics get quite...harsh.  I realize nothing is going to be a perfect fit, but this is the best I could find.

4 // What three things do you think of the most each day?
My family.  They are constantly on my mind.
Food.  I get hungry rather easy.  It's hard not to think about food.
Honestly, that's about it.  2 things constantly on my mind.  There isn't a consistent 3rd.

5 // What is your most embarrassing memory?
Well, I'll never tell that, but I will share "the most embarrassing thing I'm willing to admit on the internet".
I was 21 years old before I realized the phrase was "Nip it in the bud" and not "Nip it in the butt"....Well, thats obviously not very embarrassing.  So you should...

And that's about right. 

Honestly though, I could write novels on embarrassing things I've done, however, I'm not very inclined to share them.  I make a big enough fool of myself on the internet already.

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Emilie Lima Burke

blog // twitter // facebook // instagram // pinterest

How did you come up with the name to your blog?

My blog name is, well, my name. Creativity is not my forte. At least not with words. I wanted to write about the things that affect my own life, so why beat around the bush. I’m writing about me, why not call it that? That is, after all one of my personality traits. I am very straight to the point.  

What is your blog's mission or goal?

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine moved to Russia and started a blog. Eventually she just stopped writing. When I asked her why, she told me it was because she had settled into her transition. Like for her, blogging is helping me transition- primarily from college to the real world. There are so many things that change in that process: my address, my job, my surrounding, my bank accounts, my budget. This is my way of documenting and sharing it.

Besides blogging, what are some other hobbies of yours?

I spent my first three years of college playing on the rugby team. I’m also super active in my sorority. I do a lot of crafting, and I’m constantly working to learn.

What is the best thing about blogging for you?

It’s really cathartic for me. I have so much going on lately. This semester has been so crazy. This summer will be busy, with lots going on and a bit of being here and a bit of being there. I certainly won’t be able to develop a routine because of it. Blogging, though, has given me a bit of consistency in the chaos of it all.

What are 3 of your favorite posts you've written?

This Mother’s Day, I cried: http://www.emilielimaburke.com/blog/2015/5/this-mothers-day-i-cried

The Greatest Accomplishment of My Life: http://www.emilielimaburke.com/blog/2015/4/25/the-greatest-accomplishment-of-my-life

The Most Wonderful Date Weekend: http://www.emilielimaburke.com/blog/2015/4/20/the-most-wonderful-date-weekend

The First Guys Behind The Blog!

(Don't forget about the big Giveaway!)

I am so excited that Betsy decided to create another boys linkup! I love having Justin answer questions! So, without further ado, here he is!

Well, as a brief intro, I'm Justin. I married Tayler. I like all-you-can-eat fries, video games made in Japan that have terrible English translations, sports not named soccer, and making people laugh by telling ridiculously embellished stories about my life.

Since this is the first iteration of this link up series, I'll be kinda serious. This is the 3rd set of this kind of series I have been a part of, and I normally answer with funny GIFs and sarcasm.

1. Have you ever had a blog, or have you ever considered starting one?
Yes I had a blog. It was called Hypotheically Speaking. I'd recommend checking it out, but it has like 4 posts all within a 3 month period about 4 years ago.

2. If you could be a member of any band, which one would it be?
I'd probably be a member of The Black Mages. For the likely 99.5% of people reading this that have no idea who the Black Mages are, its a rock band started by Nobuo Uematsu, the lead composer for Square-Enix, the video game company responsible for Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean, Dragon Quest, and countless others. The Black Mages pretty much just takes Nobuo Uematsu's best works from the Final Fantasy series and rock-band-ifies them. I'd be apart of that band simply to meet Nobuo Uematsu. If Koji Kondo had a band, I'd want to be apart of that one too. (He did Mario and Zelda games).

3. Valentine’s Day is on the horizon…are you the date-planner type or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Do you have anything planned for Tayler this year?
Valentine's Day, or as I like to call it, Valentine's Week, is a very hard time for me.

 First off, I spoil my wife. If we are in a store and she wants something, more often than not, I get it for her. So when it comes down to a holiday based on gift-giving, its hard to come up with something nice, something she likes/wants, that's also something I haven't already gotten for her already.

The reason I call it Valentine's Week is because her birthday is Feb 10, just a few days before Valentine's. When we were dating, I thought I would be clever and get her something for her birthday, take her out to a romantic dinner on the 12th of February (midway between her b-day and Valentine's, that way there's no traffic at restaurants), and then I would get her something on Valentine's. Little did I know, once you do something big, you have to at least match it every following year. So, now Tayler essentially gets gifts and romantic gestures pretty much the whole week.

So, long story short, Yes, I do have something planned for Tayler. For her birthday. I still have to plan out the rest of the week.

And despite my annoyed tone that I wrote this in, I love every second of it. Tayler means everything to me.

4. Tell us about a date-night-gone-wrong for you and your wife/fiancé/girlfriend. If it’s funny, all the better!
I have a hard time with this question, simply because I rarely think that things go wrong, they just go not as expected. Sure, I've had my plans quashed, but we always ended up doing something else that was just as fun.

5. And let’s cover all the topics…sports…who are you rooting for in the Superbowl and why? (if you post after the big game, then your guy could tell us if he’s happy with the outcome!)
*Begin football rant*

Alright. First off, I am not a fan of either of the contenders this year. I haven't liked the New England Patriots for quite some time, and I never paid attention to the Seahawks until recently (just like everyone else in the entire nation. No one was a Seahawks fan until they started winning). I dislike both coaching staffs. I dislike bandwagon fans, and the Seahawks are full of them.

That being said, I want the Patriots to win. For these reasons:

1.) Tom Brady is a phenominal Quarterback. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a bitter troll who probably is that 1 dislike you see on all of the really inspiring youtube videos.

2.) I know with all of the Deflategate stuff going on, their victory would be in question. Do I think they cheated? I don't really care. Does cheating happen in football? Absolutely. Just ask the Seahawks coach himself. He does it all the time.

And last, but not least:

3.) I want Richard Sherman to shut up. Richard Sherman is the star Cornerback for the Seahawks and he proclaims he's the best one to ever play the game. I don't really care if he is or not (I still think Deion Sanders is better), but it needs to be said that you don't brag about being the best ever. Jerry Rice is the best Wide Receiver ever, and he doesn't bring it up every time he's on TV. Sherman can never seem to shut up about it.

*End football Rant*

Sidenote: If you ask me sports questions, these rants tend to happen.

Blogger Men Tell All #1

Remember the series, Boys Behind the Blog? Justin and I had so much fun with it. Well, I found another one!

If you had a blog what would you call it and what would it be about?
Well I did have one. It was called Hypothetically Speaking.  Basically, when I got bored, I would rant on it.  It lasted like, 2 months.  This blog is primarily my wife's blog, but occasionally I have attempted to write my own posts, but they always end up in being scrapped.  I had one about songs that people keep on their iPods, but never listen to, but never get rid of because they feel obligated to keep them on, for fear of people criticizing them for not having it on their iPod.  I had a post about the difference between soccer and football can be explained using turn-based versus real-time strategy games.

If you could live inside any videogame, which would it be?
Oh boy, that's one of the most loaded questions I've ever been asked on here.  I'll probably write a blog post about the further details on this one.

Just know, it'll probably be Pokemon.  As much as I love Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Fire Emblem games, I really don't want to be threatened by meteors, falling moons, and dragons.

Who is your best player on your fantasy football team this season?
Well, I was the manager of a league last year, and they bailed on me this year.  So sadly, I don't have one.

If you could play for any professional sports team, which would it be?
Well, play as in be on the team? Or play as in actually have the ability to play on the team?  I'd love to play pro football, and the team wouldn't remotely matter as long as it wasn't the Patriots or the Packers.

What do you typically do with an hour of free time?
...answer blog questions for my wife...
...speculate ways to set things on fire with my brain...
...read articles about sports and stuff...
...look up creative ways to cook something nice for my wife....
...look up deals on Pizza because I lose the passion to cook...

The Family That Plays Sports Together, Stays Together

This post is inspired by Fanatics for the Fanatics Family Campaign. They are the leading online retailer for everything sports--apparel, accessories, and other paraphernalia representing your favorite professional or collegiate sports team. Their Fanatics Family Campaign is trying to show that athletics is one of the best ways to bring families together.

A/N: My family has a TON of pictures of my siblings and I playing all our sports throughout our childhood. However, my parents just got a new computer and somehow lost quite a few pictures while transferring everything over...so, I don't have many pictures with this post, sadly...

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As long as I can remember, my family has been involved with sports; it's not just a hobby, it's a part of our lives. 

My dad is a marathon runner. He loves running and still runs, even though he is over 50! When I was very young, he'd take me running with him during his races, pushing me in a 3-wheeled stroller.

Then, at the tender age of 5, I was introduced to T-ball. My parents would record every game (it's so cute to watch me play).

At age 6, I played a season or two of soccer.

Between the ages of 8-10, I played basketball in the winter and softball in the spring.

I also dabbled in ballet, gymnastics, and jazz dance (but, just didn't enjoy it).

At age 10, I got back into soccer, and it stuck! But, I'll get back to that in a second.

In Jr. High, I was part of the field hockey team. In High School, I played on the volleyball and indoor soccer teams.

Even when I went off to college, I played intramural soccer and volleyball.

Top Left: Madison playing soccer, Middle Left: Paige dancing, Bottom Left: Bob and Paige marching in a parade, Top Middle: Bobby playing soccer, Middle: Me playing soccer, Middle Bottom: Madison playing field hockey, Top Right: Bobby wrestling, Bottom Right: Paige practicing cheer leading with our Uncle who was a cheerleader in college

My sister, Madison, played soccer almost as much as I did.

In Junior High, she also got into field hockey, as well as track and cross country, and continued those two sports in high school.

My brother, Bobby, learned wrestling from our dad at a very young age (but it wasn't his favorite).

He also got very into soccer and became a great defense player.

Then, he tried football for a few seasons until he blew out his knee. 

Now, he's content with marching band, and he's awesome at it!

My baby sister, Paige, played soccer as well! What can I say, we were just a soccer family!

Then, she really got into dancing and tumbling. She's on a dance team and is one of the best! She also took private tumbling lessons and now will be a 9th grade cheerleader!

So, as you can see, we are all very athletic and have to be involved with sports! I like to think that it was soccer that did it. Where we lived in Virginia, the community's recreational soccer league was very big and every participated in it! Friends were on teams with each other, soccer moms came up with snack and carpool schedules. My family went to every single game to cheer on whoever was playing, even if it was back-to-back games on different sides of the county. My dad even got involved with the administration of the soccer league, creating a website for them to register and buy uniforms rather than having to do it in person! He even coached all three of my siblings' teams at one point or another, even though he'd never played soccer himself. We were very devoted. And because of that, I couldn't leave soccer going into college. I joined intramural teams with my friends in my church congregation. So, not only has soccer helped bring my family closer together in supporting each other, but it's also strengthened my friendships.

The same with volleyball. I continued doing intramural leagues in college. And guess what, my husband played volleyball at his high school, too! That's actually how we first met! He saw me wearing a volleyball shirt from my high school. Before we started dating (but as we were initiating flirting), we were part of a volleyball team together. We've also gone to BYU volleyball games together because we love watching it. We've already decided that our children will play volleyball and we'll go to all their games.

But, more than that, I'm also a runner, like my dad. I don't do races (I have no desire to run a marathon, although someday I'd to run a half-marathon), but I still love running outside. Because of that, I wanted a 3-wheeled stroller. Now that I have one, once I get cleared by my OB to start running again, I'll be taking Rhys with me on my adventures. He'll run with me every morning and any races I do. I'll even be signing up for some races with my dad and the 3 of us can carry on the tradition of family closeness and togetherness he started when I was a toddler.

And, no matter what sport our children play, we will be at every game, supporting them and taking a bajillion pictures! (Oh, and I can't wait to be a soccer mom! No lie!)

Justin's Dreams--Boys Behind the Blog

Don't forget about our Designs by Tiffany giveaway!
Ready to learn more about Justin?

Round 3 of Boys Behind the Blog!

1) What would you do with $1,000,000?

Put a substantial amount into savings so I could live off the interest for years to come. And with the rest, go and get myself some all-you-can eat sushi and probably those new video games I want.

2) What is your dream job?

Go and google Diners, Drive-ins and Dives...I want to do what he does.

3) Who is your celebrity crush?

Mandy Moore and Lindsey Stirling.

4) What is your favorite sports team?

Collegiate or professional?

If its collegiate, than anything BYU.

If we're talking professional, I have to break it down into different sports. Baseball=hands down, the Atlanta Braves. Football=either the Denver Broncos or the San Francisco 49's, but I will admit to follow the Detroit Lions. Basketball=I keep an eye on the Utah Jazz, but I really don't like watching professional basketball. 

5) What was your AOL/AIM screenname back in the day?

I had several. But easily the one I identified the most with was bloodypirate7989

March Madness

Today is March 1st. Which means a couple of things: 1. Saint David's Day 2. Sugar Fast Month 3. Daily Slice of Life Challenge!
Today is the day we celebrate the Patron Saint of Wales. To do so, wear a Welsh flag, a leek on your shirt, and eat Welsh food! Later today, I will be going over to my Welsh professor's house for a Saint David's Day party, typically consisting of speaking Welsh and reminiscing about study abroad in Wales.

Note the leek on my "lapel"

I am also starting my sugar fast today. No sugar (or fast food this year) for the entire month of March! You should try it: it's a lot harder than it seems. This year, my husband is willing to do it with me--he's already turned down cake. I've turned down Skittles from my students.

Last March, my Teaching Writing professor introduced our class to a challenge: to practice writing, we have to blog every single day of March. It was hard and I was actually only able to do it 28 days of the month. Well, I am going to try again.

And guess what! You are all invited, too! Once I figure out the Link up tool, I'll post it to every post this month. Until then, grab a Our Fairy Tale "Daily Slice of Life" button to post on your blog to link up with this challenge!!

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