Thursday, December 31

2009 in review

as i've done for the last few years now here is the 2009 in review :)
2008, 2007 (and i just transfered over 2006, 2005 and 2004)

january - rang in the new year home in new jersey and then went back to ireland for my last 3 months of the irish adventure. the beginning of january was blah - i was sick and just working and the weather was typical ireland in january. but the last week was fabulous when amy came to visit me and i rented a car and drove over 1000km in 3 days and i got to show her my favorite place in the world. it was absolutely hilarious and a vacation i'll never forget. and then we went to spain - malaga, granada and madrid and from lolcat spanish, sherry, and nonstop laughter it was incredible.

february - realized my time in ireland was coming closer to an end and i needed to take advantage of everything. so i was constantly doing things with friends, doing all the things i hadn't done in cork yet, had my weekly cinema dates with brenda, my last hike with the club on a gorgeous day in the irish mountains, booking my flight home :( and deciding to go on an italian adventure by myself where i frolicked through venice, florence, pisa and rome and ate more in those 6 days than i ever have. i really recommend traveling by yourself. i also decided to move to connecticut with the roomie when i moved back to the states in march.


march - ahhhh! it went by too fast. every day in march i was doing something from last dinners or pints to goodbye parties, an amazing weekend in dublin with brenda, a ztatastic weekend in london, a great patrick's day, a completely drunk clubs and socs, seeing old friends, ireland winning 6 nations, figuring out how to pack up the last 20 months of my life, saying goodbye to all my friends and crying most of the flight back to the states, back in nj for 4 days, buying a car - colby and moving to connecticut.


april - starting work in connecticut which i loved, the ridiculousness of living with amy again, danish ghosts, margarita nights, working 16+ hour days, getting to see my loves again, gator, seeing jeanne run the boston marathon, i'm on a boat, meeting up with a college friend and seeing bruce springsteen, and being very happy about everything.

may - super crazy work, an absolutely hilarious birthday weekend for roomie's birthday, sailing, drinking waaay too much, fun on the long island sound, some bad decisions, lots of work, getting the summer job in dc! and still just very happy with life and the decision to move back to the states.


june - extremely sad to leave connecticut but a great going away party, home for a week where i subbed hs and then down to dc for the summer to work at the leadership conference. immediately hit it off with my summer roomie, a hilarious staff orientation week, hooking up with the boy, back home for my little bro's graduation, my first session and the great group of scholars who dealt with me always singing taylor, kelly and miley, being sarah palin, the craziness of the staff at night and just loving what i was doing. started dating the boy, got offered to work the international session, home for 2 days.


july - back down in dc for the international session, got asked to interview at a school up in nj - which would require me to drive from nj to dc 2x in 3 days, but I GOT A TEACHING JOB, had a blast with the international session and exploring dc & nyc with these scholars, bus 5 and the bus belt. back to my westpark loves for the 2nd session and more dc ridiculousness with that. sad for the sessions to be over, the most hilarious end of cycle staff party, back to new jersey, happy 24th birthday to me!

august - a few days of relaxation at the shore with my family, continuing to see the boy every chance i could, enjoying the end of summer, camping with the boy, lots of trips to philly, seeing karen in nyc, and about to enter the real world.

september - ahhhh, first day of teaching! crew reunion trip to md, broke up with the boy, joined zta alumni group, teaching going well, really spent most of the month focused on getting everything well at school.

october - still pretty focused on school but loving it! my co-workers were fabulous, my students pretty good, lots of zta alumni events, getting koko - my mac book! a great weekend in philly with jeanne getting to see my crew team row, then a hilarious halloween with the connecticut gang, getting tickets to see t.swift in may.

november - going to maryland and wac for the first time in 2.5 years! loving some time with friends who i saw while i was there, seeing little!, school still going well, lots of seeing friends for dinner, trying something i never thought i would but it is going well, waay too much shopping with my mom, fun in the city with friends, thanksgiving parade with my dad and then ski practices started.

december - ahh, seriously? school still going well and i'm loving it, but ready for a break! dealing with snow, a great weekend in connecticut, a nice christmas, getting to see friends, a fun night in the city with my family and another new year's eve.

2009 was incredible. considering i was pretty nervous how the year would be, all i knew last december 31st was i was leaving ireland in march... the rest was unknown. and for it to have turned out this fabulous. well, i'm extremely lucky. i loved my last few months in ireland, got some amazing vacations, loved connecticut, had a blast in dc and then found a teaching job i couldn't be happier with. everything worked out fabulously.

hopefully 2010 will be just as amazing and i'm ready for what it may bring!

hope everyone has a fabulous night :) happy 2010!

oh, and yay for my 300th post here at heart in ireland :)

Wednesday, December 30

slightly crazy

so last night my parents, brother and i went into the city for the annual christmas visit. we've gone in for about the last 12ish years the week between christmas and new years to see the tree and all the other festive decorations in new york city. this is something i LOVE doing and i was sad christmas 2007 when i stayed in europe and went to edinburgh instead that i wasn't able to go to nyc at all that year. (yes, i realize how horrible i sound in that sentence)

but last night we braved the about 15 degree temperatures, 20ish mph winds and wind chills of about -5 to do this. and while i felt like a fat kid in a little coat it was fun :)

the tree was really pretty this year, i think i'm finally getting used to the led lights and this was the least crowded i've ever seen the city. especially at this time of year!
favorite shot of the night
momma and i

so it was a fun night and something i love doing! but maybe not when it is that cold!


and i'm being even crazier and i'm making plans to meet a friend tomorrow (new year's eve) in new york city for lunch. yes. i am that insane. but i haven't seen laura in 2 years! we met when we studied abroad together in cork back in 2005, it was her i spent christmas 2007 in edinburgh with and now she is in nyc for christmas with her family. and so this was the only time that worked in our schedules. so that should be fun! and i'm trying out a new way into the city and taking the path from hoboken instead of the train from closer to my house. and then i'm hanging out with a co-worker tomorrow night, still haven't finalized the plans, just know we're doing something!


so saw this online and it is just incredible. a mashup of the best songs of 2009! i don't know how they do it, but i was just in awe at the awesomeness!


anyone have any good new year's eve plans?


where in the world....letterfrack, ireland



It's Wednesday and that means it's time the lovely Jess over at Classy in Philadelphia's , Where In The World Wednesday!

If you participate, please take the button the fabulous Feris made to use in your post!

The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world...it doesn't have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.


this week i've chosen an absolutely area in ireland. letterfrack is a village in county galway and is in connemara national park. i spent a few days around new year's 2008 up here hiking and having a blast with the club. it was one of my favorite new years. we did 4 amazing hikes in 5 days. including a hike up croagh patrick on new year's eve day and then a great night out with friends to ring in 2008!

pics from - night navigation up diamond hill, view on first day's hike, me on the summit of croagh patrick and the famous death scene!

so if you are participating go over to Jess's blog - Classy in Philadelphia and share your link!

Sunday, December 27

best of 09 : the end

hope everyone had a very merry christmas :) i am enjoying my nice long break! and excited that i have a week off still! yay! another reason why i love teaching.

christmas was the usual family affairs, quite crazy and wacky. but it is family so what else is expected. i knew all of my christmas presents except one - but i had a great time shopping with my mom to get them all so that was fun. the one thing i really wanted was a new strand of pearls which i helped pick out. and i also got a few seasons of friends on dvd (so now i own all 10 seasons), clothes, and my surprise was the national parks book based on the ken burns series that aired a few month ago on pbs. so that was exciting! and my bro and sister got me a new ZTA sweatshirt, which i'm excited about because i wear sweatshirts all the time around the house and my older one is from my sophomore year of college.

so i've realized i've kinda neglected the best of 09 challenge. so here is the second half of the challenge. oops! i also still need to write my 2009 in review, which is always one of my favorite posts of the year!

December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What's yours?

this is a silly questions. barry's gold blend irish tea. i received a big package of my favorite tea and tea biscuits yesterday from one of my irish friends :)

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."

a year in transition. from leaving ireland in march and getting a real job in september, it has been one AMAZING year with adventure and fun from ireland (and all over europe) to connecticut, washington dc and new jersey.

December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your money?

ummm.. does the gas station count? haha. i guess that is what i get for driving up and down the east coast all the time.

December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

ummm, so many to choose from. i loved the one with amy and jeanne for the crew reunion. or my solo one down to chestertown. or the many drives down to dc this summer. but i loved the one in march up to connecticut for the first time in my car and knowing i was moving in with amy.

December 20 New person.She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

how do i choose? i met so many people this year. from everyone in washington dc including my crazy co-workers to my current and amazing co-social studies teachers who have been amazing and soooo helpful! or the hundreds of students who i sang tswift and miley too all summer while teaching them about the government, or my amazing students right now in my class who are helping me become an inspiring teacher?

December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?

hmm. i bought stuff and printed out pictures for my washington college scrapbook. too bad i've only done about 3 pages. maybe next year on that one.

December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

i hate to say it but twitter. if i'm not following you leave your name in a comment! i'm erinkoko.

December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

this whole year was a lesson that things do work out. i started out last january knowing i had 3 months left in ireland... and the rest was unknown. and the last 9 months since i stepped back onto US soil have been incredible and everything has worked out. even when it was mid-july and i didn't have a teaching job yet.

December 25 Gift. What's a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?

a plane ticket back to the US. or my new mac. which i <3!

December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

isn't this similar to lesson? i guess don't ever give up on yourself and that everything is an experience and to make the best of it.

December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

there are so many bloggers i'd LOVE to meet, but i haven't had that opportunity yet. but i do love twitter, though i jumped on the bandwagon late.

December 28 Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

i love stationary from target. especially since i love to write real letters, i love cute and reasonably prices stationary!

December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

ummm, probably all the danish ghost fun in mystic. or the entire summer in dc. i seriously laughed for 7 weeks straight.

December 31 Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...) to turn my thesis into an article and get it published. pretty much everything else on my 2009 goal list was achieved.

so there is the 2009 blog challenge :) it was a fun way to look back and think about what i've done in 2009..


and i forgot about this. before christmas my dad came home from work and was like make him christmasy. so i created a cloak and hat for the crow.

Friday, December 25

nollaig shona duit



nollaig shona duit
(have a happy christmas in irish)


hope everyone had a good christmas :) and enjoyed the day with their family and received all sorts of fun presents!


all the presents under the tree on christmas eve

my family



one of my favorites - christmas 1988! i was 3.

Wednesday, December 23

where in the world....edinburgh, scotland



It's Wednesday and that means it's time the lovely Jess over at Classy in Philadelphia's , Where In The World Wednesday!

If you participate, please take the button the fabulous Feris made to use in your post!

The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world...it doesn't have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.





this week i've chosen edinburgh, scotland. i spent christmas 2007 with my lovely friend laura in edinburgh. we met when we studied abroad together and us along with another friend were travel buddies. we went to berlin and paris together. it was the first time i had seen her in 2 years and she was in edinburgh doing the vet program when i was in cork for my masters. and i'm getting to see her next week as she is visiting her sister for christmas in nyc. yay! so here we are at edinburgh castle after just walking up the royal mile and her showing me all over her gorgeous city. i loved it there :)

Monday, December 21

ohhhh jersey

so post secret made me laugh this weekend because I KNOW WHERE THIS SIGN IS! i pass it when i take I-80 west to pennsylvania (exit 4b if you wanted to know) and i was just this way over the weekend! and i go on 46 allll the time, i was today. YAY for weird town names in jersey!

anyway, luckily we missed most of the blizzard in northwest new jersey, only about 4-5 inches of snow! yay! but it did mess up my weekend plans, so i couldn't go down to philly to see jeanne for the weekend. booo. but friday night was fun, one of my co-workers and i went and finished christmas shopping and went out to dinner and just had fun :) yay! and then i spent the weekend finishing up christmas cards and reading.

there are 1.5 more days of school until break :) yay! and then i am off until january 4th!
and there is a lot of change going on at school, still not sure how it will effect me, but overall i think it is a positive but it means things will be pretty crazy in the social studies department. and today we had a lockdown drill. and the end of a lockdown is a firedrill (still not sure of the logic behind congregating the school in 2 open fields if we think something is wrong...) but it was at 9.30 this morning. when it was below freezing. did they warn us? nooope. so we were standing outside for 15 minutes this morning. not cool.

tomorrow is the first day on the mountain for practice! yay :) sooo looking forward to seeing if i remember how to ski.

and i am WAY behind on the best of 09, i started out soooo well. so hopefully tomorrow i'll get around to that :)



Wednesday, December 16

where in the world.... berlin, germany


It's Wednesday and that means it's time the lovely Jess over at Classy in Philadelphia's , Where In The World Wednesday!

If you participate, please take the button the fabulous Feris made to use in your post!

The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world...it doesn't have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.



this week i've chosen the brandenburg gates in berlin. i had an amazing time in berlin with two friends in november 2005. frolicking around the city, touching the berlin wall, checkpoint charlie and playing along the river.

Monday, December 14

ahhhhh!

umm, so last week quickly went out of control. like from 15-60 in about 12 hours. i just had SO MUCH stuff to do! and like no time.

wednesday was a snow day. we got like 4 inches of super wet heavy snow, and up by school they got about 7 inches. and then it rained and made life gross. it was nice, though i hate using a snow day up in december. i slept, which was glorious. and then graded 40 world war II propaganda projects which took forever! and then thursday was test day, so i now had 100 tests to grade on world war II and antebellum america. and thursday i also ran practice, and i made my skiers do our crazy ab workout from college, haha! and then i went to the christmas concert at school. and i also had to make sure i had sub plans in order. i swear that is just as much work! because on friday i was going on the model congress field trip. so i was just like sjfsgkkdgkdkfdkfd.... and then i went to connecticut for the weekend to see the fabulous roomie and other mystic friends.

and i just finished grading the last few tests because progress reports are due tuesday morning at 9am. so tomorrow i need to go in slightly early and enter the grades, i just finished grading. and when my one class was like are we getting tests back and i said, no i didn't get to finish yours - i responded with sorry i had a life this weekend. i don't sit around all weekend grading tests, i like the weekends just as much as you guys do. they laughed. and i am so glad this is the last full week before christmas. i am soooo looking forward to 10 days off. and maybe i'll get some stuff ready in advance, so the next chapters will be easier? and with midterms and everything. ahhhh, so much going on. but i love it.

so i've been neglecting the best of 09. so here is the last week! how did that happen? eeek!

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

moment of peace? all the long car drives i've made this year. i do a lot of thinking in the car alone, while rocking out to my favorite music and just wondering. or popping into my favorite coffee shop in cork - tribes on rainy sundays with a great book to just sit and relax for a few hours.

December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

best challenge is a tie between moving back to the states and my first few months teaching. both have been extremely rewarding and oh so challenging. but i love it. i'm so happy i'm back in the classroom and that moving back to the us has been as amazing as it has. honestly 2009 has just been incredible.

December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?

ummmm, i think you know this. but taylor's fearless. i know it came out in november 2008, but it has honestly been my soundtrack this year.

thought for one in 2009 i'm quite fond of the glee soundtrack (yes, i went there)

December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

ummm, best place... i can't choose. there are too many places i've loved. from ireland to my travels around europe to connecticut, dc, philly, maryland, new jersey....

December 12 New food. You're now in love with Lebanese food and you didn't even know what it was in January of this year.

red wine. wasn't a big red wine fan until the roomie and i went to spain in january. now it is almost all i drink! especially spanish red wine. now i want a glass.

December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?

ummmm, i lived in 4 different places this year.

cork, ireland - mystic, ct - westpark hotel - new jersey

December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?

best rush. getting the phone call 4 hours after my interview offering me the teaching job. i was completely shocked and couldn't believe that i was going to be teaching this fall! it was so surreal!


how is everyone's week? i can't believe christmas is so close! my students remind me everyday! and i'm excited for this weekend and seeing my love in philly! yay :)


night :)


Wednesday, December 9

where in the world.... london


It's Wednesday and that means it's time the lovely Jess over at Classy in Philadelphia's , Where In The World Wednesday!

If you participate, please take the button the fabulous Feris made to use in your post!

The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world...it doesn't have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.


and this week is LONDON.... specifically my favorite phone booth in london. i chose this because a year ago my parents hopped the pond to come see my graduate with my MA in history and we went to london and then all over ireland.

with my mom last december
when my parents were in europe
for my MA graduation
november 2007 when i spent thanksgiving
in london with a friend
first time in london december 2005
where i found my favorite phone booth
one of my favorite shots of london, december 2008