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.