happy new year!

Hope everyone has a fun, safe and happy new year's eve! 

I'm off to outside Philly in a bit to see some great college friends for a fun night of debauchery. I'm excited and it should be a fun time!

Here's to a great 2011!

What are your plans for tonight? 

(and omg europe on monday!)

2010 in review

so 2010 wasn't the best year for me - it started out pretty awesome and then about halfway through the year everything started to change. it hasn't been horrible and i've really tried to look on the bright side, as i've been able to do some pretty awesome things. but it has been a rough year. but i've been really lucky as 2007, 2008 and 2009 (especially 2009) were awesome, so i hope 2011 will be a better year.

january:
had a fun new year's eve with erin hanging out, and i was super busy in january. with teaching, driving to bethlehem to see matt on the weekend, coaching the ski team. yea... january was boring. i was working everyday from 7am-8pm with school and ski. and there were seriously no photos in jan :(


february:
february was crazy! with teaching, ski team, zta recruitment, going to kansas, and other little trips.

kansas basketball game with patricia

at truman's house in missouri

lots of snow!

so it was the usual with school & ski. i also had recruitment for the college zta chapter i advise with a few late late nights, and the highlight of february was kansas! i was also hanging out with erin every week going to the movies or dinner (so nice to have a local friend). played in princeton for the day with jclark and i went out for a long weekend to see my friend patricia and had a blast in kansas! went to a kansas basketball game, played with history and ate a lot of amazing food. i also hit 2 new states - kansas and missouri! stayed a little longer due to a blizzard in jersey. lots and lots of skiing! the charity ball with matt, more snow, being hooked to the tv for the winter olympics especially the skiing & hockey.




march:

amy and i on our adventure

puppy and lillian kitten

march started out great. i went up to mystic for a fun weekend! i also got a new camera! yay! dyed my hair, seeing twin in pa, got new glasses, sadly had to put the sweet miss brandy to sleep :(
saw riverdance with erin which was fabulous and my present to myself for being back in the states a year! huge budget cuts in nj in education, but still loving my job and my students, still seeing matt on the weekends and having fun with him, super busy with work, being ztatastic and happy that it is no longer winter!


april:

monticello

gettysburg

april was a fun month! it started out with spring break! yay! a week off of school! and i was down to virginia to see my sister for easter with my family and then it was the civil war road trip. i went to richmond, appomattox, monticello, longwood college (where my sorority was founded), fredricksburg, saw where stonewall jackson's arm was burried, chancellorsville, wash dc, gettysburg and i got to see my pen-pal holly! so that was an amazing week. the rest of april was uneventful, loving my job but things were still uneasy with if i was going to have a job, but i was loving the spring weather and still seeing matt when i could and i bought my bike!

may:

fun weekend in philly

tswift

graduation

may was traveltastic! started out may with a much needed mystic weekend. i helped amy celebrate her birthday and a fun weekend of drinking and playing on the water. then the next weekend i was down in philly with jeanne, with a hilarious we're drinking like we're in college night and cheering on our college team rowing. still waiting to hear about my job, absolutely loving my students and teaching, seeing TSWIFT in concert which was ammmmazing! then the next week i was in baltimore to see my little & glittle for the weekend, which was an awesome time! and next was my fav trip of may - going up to boston to see jeanne graduate which was my 4 reunion! may went by super fast as i was traveling but it was so much fun!




june:

dixie chicks, keith urban & the eagles

eeeee! only a few more days of school before summer break! i signed up for a half-marathon, read a ton of books, loved seeing erin & my sorority alumni sisters & cut my hair with bangs! unfortunately found out that i wasn't getting rehired with about a week left in the school year, saw the dixie chicks, keith urban & the eagles in concert which was fabulous! survived my first year teaching and was extremely sad to not be teaching there again, went to graduation and then a few hours later was in mystic and camp started the next day! camp was crazy! the staff was fun, but man i wasn't used to the little kids!

july:

lots of sailing

lobster

lady a & tim mcgraw

summer was in swing at camp, which i was enjoying. but i was loving the weekends. 4th of july was great with the beach, boating & fireworks. lots of sailing, driving the launches, happy hours on friday nights, laughing as the boys drank on weeknights. twin came up and her amy and i went to see lady a and tim mcgraw and got drenched in a thunderstorm! the summer of arnold palmers, attempting to eat lobster, sailing, playing at the cottages in newport, my fab 25th birthday weekend of the bar, carson's, the beach and the rascal flatts with amy and captain! i also started up my photo365 again!

august:

sunrise over acadia

acadia national park

love it

still lots of sailing, realizing i should be running for the half marathon, the pranks at camp, and general summer fun. quickly realizing summer was almost over and slightly panicing about my life and no clue as to what would happen, i cried a lot this summer. camp ended and lots of cleaning. heading up to maine (yes! another new state) with amy for a few days camping at acadia national park. which i LOVED. lots of hiking, biking, watching sunrise, and just an absolutely gorgeous part of our country. sadly leaving connecticut and heading back to nj, where i became a statistic. started going on a few dates and did my 30 by 30 list and found out i'd be in dc only for a few weeks this fall.

little's bachelorette

yay 13.1 miles

world war II memorial

ft. mchenry

september:
had a mini breakdown when school started and i wasn't going back but it was a busy week, catching up with erin & barb, went hiking with becca, and then drove down to dc for a few weeks work. and on the way went to my little's bachelorette party in baltimore which was a blast! and then the history dork i am went to ft. mchenry and then i started what i thought was going to be two-ish weeks in dc. in dc i hung out with my fav mj and we were tourists and i got my library of congress library card! and then was so excited to be reunited with patricia and mj! training week was fun, and to end the week was the chestertown half marathon! i met up with jeanne and walburn and had a great weekend, running 13.1 miles in 2:11:56, which i was super excited about, and then some crew time and then hitting up the bird and drinking like we were in college! first session went well and i was asked to work more weeks! so i was going to be in dc a bit longer!







october: 

ft. sumter

magnolia plantation grounds

mom and i at army

little and i

conference life is crazy. i was loving the fun with ellie & mj and our lunch adventures especially with cupcakes! my groups were all pretty awesome, so i was lucky! little's wedding in baltimore was so much fun! she was gorgeous and it was a great party! and just crazy conference life. having a week off and going with amy to charleston, sc! took amtrack and had fun playing in a gorgeous southern city! seeing ft. sumter! and all the gorgeous architecture! the plantations and old houses! i was in love. tswift's new cd came out! ended the month with going to an army football game with my parents and heading back down to dc for one last week.











november:

ellie & i at end of cycle

erin and i hiking

thought there might be some good news, but there wasn't. but the last week of conferences were fun! and the end of cycle was completely hilarious! then i was back to nj.... november kinda sucked. i subbed a few days a week, read a lot, erin & i went hiking and were hanging out all the time. it was a really quiet month. i bought a bed. thanksgiving with my family was nice. joined the gym...



december:

amy & i in newport

walburn, me and jeanne 

christmas

lots of plans for december. the first weekend i met up with 2 college friends in the city for the day, then sorority christmas party, and saturday drove to philly to get jeanne and we headed to baltimore for walburn's christmas party! it was a great night and then met kaity for brunch sunday. continued to sub a few days a week, re-did my room, went to connecticut for the weekend and saw catie for dinner and then the usual mystic shenanigans. amy & i went to newport, the slumber party and a great weekend. christmas was quickly approaching, i booked the eurotrip! 3 weeks in january to zurich, prague, budapest, vienna, cologne, amsterdam and ireland!
yay!! took little bro into the city for
his present to see the king tut exhibit, which was fabulous. and then suz's christmas party in the city, which was hilarious and fun to see some people i haven't in years. and then lots of christmas and euro prep. a nice christmas with my family, where i got a kindle! and today a big snowstorm. the rest of this week will be getting ready for europe and a new years eve with jeanne and other college friends in philly.



2010 overall i did a lot, there was a major disappointment with not getting rehired. but i think i've done an ok job of looking on the bright side and having fun. i did some awesome things!

-3 new states (kansas, missouri & maine)
-successfully completed my first year teaching
-made a few new awesome friends
-restarted my photo365
-ran a half marathon
-saw riverdance, taylor swift/kellie pickler, eagles/dixie chicks/keith urban, lady a/tim mcgraw/rascal in concert
-lots of road trips to see friends

so i am extremely lucky that i was able to do so many things and have these awesome opportunities. i hope 2011 will be a better year, but i was lucky in 2010 for many things.

2011 goals

here are the 2010 goals and what i accomplished... it was an interesting year. but overall i think i was pretty successful on my goals and made some progress on the ones that i didn't accomplish. 

-have a awesome rest of my first year teaching and get rehired next year: awesome first year =check... get rehired= stupid budget and not finding out until the last weeks of school... still kinda bitter
-hopefully work where i worked last summer or find a fun summer job: dc didn't work out, but i had a fun summer in mystic sailing!
-trip with my 3 best friends from college: road trip didn't happen for me.... but we did have a fun weekend in boston, and i've been able to see the girls individually a few times which has been fun, plus 3/4 of us are ringing in 2011 together!
-continue traveling around the US: check - adventures in kansas & missouri with ptrish and maine with amy! plus all my east coast road trips to see friends! 
-move out on my own: this plan has been put on hold by the whole no job thing... this will happen in 2011!
- join a gym:check! and i'm going 3-4 times a week, plus i ran a half marathon in september
-read 100 books: i read 90 books this year, so pretty close.
- scrapbook more: ummm, i need to work on this.
-save $20,000: $17,000 was the most i saved, the savings balance is a bit lower right now, but i was good until i didn't have a job, and decided to go to Europe
-take a college class: ummm, not with the no job
-look for the best in every situation: i try to, especially the way things have been since june.
-a relationship: ummm, was seeing someone from january to may and a few dates this fall...
-keep in better touch with friends: yes, i have been writing a lot more emails and real letters too!
-get back to europe?: close - going on eurotrip in 3 days!!!! 3 weeks in zurich, prague, budapest, vienna, cologne, amsterdam & ireland, 
-edit thesis for publication: hahahahhahahaha... again
-be happy and love my life: i am pretty happy and things are going well, everything happens for a reason, so just trying to figure out where to go from here. i've done a lot of really awesome things and i'm seeing the year off as a chance to get to do different things and go on adventures

so the goals for 2001, well they will be similar. the things i love in life are being happy, traveling, reading and being outside. now as i have no idea where 2011 will take me i can just hope for a happy, fun and healthy year. 


- find a full time job where i am happy (preferably teaching) 
- move out and get my own place
-continue traveling both in the US and internationally (i would LOVE to get out west again)
- read 100 books
- continue working out 3-4 times a week and run another half marathon
- save an additional $12,000 this year
- scrapbook more
- continue doing my photo365
- cross 5 things off my 30 by 30 list
- blog more (125 posts) 
- a relationship
- continue looking for the best in every situation
- enjoy life and have fun!

so those are things i'd like to do in 2011! any others you think i should add to the list?

 what are your goals for 2011?

let it snow!

merry christmas! i hope everyone had a fabulous holiday with their families and loved ones. as i'm sure you know the northeast got a nice little blizzard yesterday into today and while jersey did get a beating, luckily this was another coastal storm so while parts of the state got 30" of snow, in the northwest part of the state we only got about 7". so i was pretty happy as i'm not the biggest fan of the snow. but it did look pretty falling yesterday.

snow!

silly kitty wanted his picture taken

so christmas was fun this year. we opened family presents on christmas eve, and well i knew everything i was getting for christmas. my big gift was my kindle! which i love! i was kinda on the fence about the e-reader, but it was in october when i went to charleston and brought 5 books for 5 days, i was like this has to stop. most of my luggage was books! and with eurotrip coming up i was excited  for the kindle. i've had fun looking up books and checking out the free book section on amazon, i've also signed up for emails for the free books too. but i'll also be buying some for the trip too. and i also picked out an adorable kindle cover from puppy dogs & polka dots on etsy.  corri was awesome to work with, i loved her covers, but wanted a different fabric than the ones she had for kindles (i wanted one of the keychain ones) and i got it a few days later no problems. so if you're looking for a kindle cover or other cute things check her out! and then just some small things i needed for europe. so i was happy :) plus i think my family liked the presents i gave them which was fun to see them open their presents.

kindle & cover!

so i leave for europe in a week! ahhhhh! i still have a ton to do. i need to think about what i'm packing and make sure i have anything, get the travelers check card, book my hostels, talk to a few of my irish friends about plans and all of this by friday! i'm super excited about new year's eve. i'm going to jeanne's house with a bunch of college friends, so it should be super fun and lots of alcohol!

hope you had a fabulous christmas!

merry christmas

merry christmas :)

i hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and gets to spend time with their family and loved ones.

books and travel

as many of you probably know two of my favorite things in the world are books and traveling.
i've read 82 books in 2010 and hope to read a few more over the next few days and then my love of traveling and new places (fun places of 2010 - kansas, missouri, civil war trip, maine, wash dc, and then all my little mini road trips to see friends) and the upcoming eurotrip!

so i love travel writing and if i was a better writer it would be my dream career. to travel the world and write about it. one of my friends wants me to write a book about my travels, but i will never happen. i think that is one of the reasons i love "eat, pray, love" so much. the travel aspect of it and the life in other places and the things you experience and how they impact you. travel writing is one of my favorite things to read and i feel i can just get away with it and laugh about the antics and usually crazy things they get involved in and imagine what it would be like to just move to italy, travel around the world for a year or travel around ireland with a fridge.

amazon.com

so along with travel writing i also love reading books set in fun places and so i was in the library a few days ago and found the best book. - it is nancy pearl's "book lust to go: recommend reading for travelers, vagabonds and dreamers"it is a awesome and she lists a bunch of countries, geographic areas, cities and then some books both fiction & non fiction and why she chose them for that place. i've spent the last two days going though the book and creating a list of all the books i want to read from it. i'm excited to read some books about the places i'm traveling to - switzerland, czech republic, hungary, austria, germany and the netherlands. i'm always reading anything i can get my hands on about ireland both fiction and non-fiction.

i loved going through this book picking out titles and i can't wait to go to my library and my favorite used book shop to look for all these fun places to read about and maybe one day travel!

some of my favorite travel writing books have been anything tony horowitz - who it what i like to call a travel writing historian, round ireland with a fridge by tony hawk, i love bill bryson - one of my favs is the lost continent, the lost girls is about 3 friends who travel around the world for a year, and i've read a few that were great about hiking the appalachian trail, living in italy and so many more. reading these books makes me want to hop on the next flight there!

 what type of book do you prefer to read?

credit cards

so i just had a major shock when looking at my credit card statement. i got my email saying my statement was ready and due january 15th. so i go to look at it knowing it was going to be redic high. this billing cycle i bought a bed, a plane ticket to europe, train tickets for europe, some christmas presents, and the usual things i put on my credit card (gas, ezpass, netflix) so my damage this month was $2987. now i pay my credit card off in full every month and usually my payment is maybe $200. so i was shocked to see the minimum payment for $3000 was only $44! $44! that is like 1.5% of my bill. 1.5%!?! so if i only paid the minimum i would have about $450 in interest (my rate is low for a credit card 15%) so i can see how the cycle of credit card debt can spiral out of control.

i was sitting there in shock and just flabbergasted at how little the minimum payment is.

i try to only use my credit card sparingly and for larger purchases, knowing i have money in my checking account or savings to pay it off. and i know i am lucky that i have savings (at this stage 2 years ago, i had nothing) but i am just in shock at how crazy credit card companies are.

have you ever had a financial realization that just blew you away? how is your relationship with your credit card?

do you want to have a slumber party in my basement?

so a weekend in mystic was juuuust what i needed. i needed the crazy that only one of my second homes could provide. a fabulous weekend with the college roomie that included great friends, alcohol, yummy food and history.

i had a crazy morning on friday - i realized if i was going to europe in 3 weeks i needed to mail my passport like a month ago to get its extra pages. so i did the application and paid to have it expedited and went to the post office to mail it (ps - i can't wait to have it back, so scary to mail it away!) and then headed off for harford where i was meeting a sorority sister of mine for dinner. we met up every few weeks when i was in connecticut this summer for dinner and i've missed seeing her, so it was a great catch up dinner and just chat about life and such.

then on the road to mystic - where it was so great to see everyone. friday night turned out to be fun. another good friend was in town for the weekend as well, so i was excited to see him! we spent the night drinking and card games (where a bunch of random people showed up) and then headed off to a bar downtown. it was full of good conversation and just the random mystic debauchery.

saturday morning amy and i decided to put our inner history nerds on and went up to newport to play in the "cottages" like we did one afternoon this summer. so we enjoyed walking around the elms and marble house and soaking up the lavish summer "cottages" of the rich and famous during the guilded age. and i just love it. both houses were amazing and also decorated for the holidays as well. unfortunately you can't take pictures inside. but they were just gorgeously decorated. and the art collection at the elms was pretty impressive! so i'd recommend these two houses in newport as well as the breakers and rosecliff which we saw over the summer. 

poinsettia christmas tree at the elms - omg the floral arrangements were incredible here!

back view of the elms

amy and i at marble house

after a fun afternoon of playing history nerds we met up with our friends houli and captain and went for some of my favorite pizza in mystic. pizzetta is great and so delish! so we had fun making fun of each other and chatting about everything while enjoying fab pizza. my fav is their mac&cheese pizza. and then the fun began.

so then the 4 of us had a slumber party. it was pretty much your teenage slumber party minus nailpolish plus alcohol. we played played board games, drank wine and alcoholic hot chocolate, acted like 14 year olds and it was a great night. something fun and so relaxed. and since the weather wasn't great the boys stayed over and camped out on the couch and air mattress. and then we proceeded to talk through the walls once we went to bed. it was fun and such a random, low key night. and then the next morning we went to breakfast and i had gingerbread french toast which was like a little bite of heaven.

so it was just what i needed in terms of a weekend away!

and this week should be good. i'm going into nyc on wednesday with my brother for his christmas present. i'm taking him to see the king tut exhibit! which i'm really excited for! and then i'm going into the city on saturday night for suz's christmas party. so lots of fun things going on!

aannnnnnnd i did it! i booked flights and trains today! I'M GOING BACK TO EUROPE! for 3 weeks in january! i'm going to zurich, prague, budapest, vienna, cologne, amsterdam and then ireland. soooooooo excited for this. i need this trip right now. i figured out all the details on sunday night and booked today. so i leave in 3 weeks - which is super soon as christmas in in two weeks, then new years where i'll be in philly and then on jan 3rd i leave. so a lot to do. but i'm going back! i can't wait to go to all these new places and especially my favorite cork! i can't wait to frolic down patricks street, visit friends, drink beamish, get hot chocolate at o'conaills and so many other things! yay!

so how was your weekend? any recommendations for any place i'm going?

new room

i've mentioned recently that i bought a new bed and that i did a major room clean. and i finally got all the pieces of my new bedding today so here it is! my room is still way cluttered but it has been my room since i was 14, and i have a waaaay too small closet and no other place to store summer clothes, camping gear, skiis, all my teaching things, things for when i move out.... but the massive clean went well and i threw out a few bags of garbage and a ton to recycling and a few bags of clothes were donated too. but with getting a new bed ( which i absolutely LOVE) and some super cute bedding that i totally went all out with and bought a few extra decorative pillows and cute pillowcases (i'm now up to 7 pillows and a body pillow) i'm loving my room. 

new bed!

two bookshelves (both full)

another view of room

so there might be a change with eurotrip. there is a conflict with working another set of conferences this winter, so i'm still looking at going just in january for 3 weeks. most likely from jan 3-22nd. so i need to make plans fast as this is rapidly approaching. but i was just researching and from what i've found those 3 weeks are going to be the same as the 4 i was previously planning... so trying to figure it out and figure out where i want to go this time. i really want ireland, amsterdam, vienna, budapest & prague. and the order of travel i what i'm having problems.... grrr.

but i'm going to connecticut this weekend which i'm excited for! so yay for another fun weekend!

are you doing anything fun this weekend?

east coast love

so i don't think i've mentioned recently how much i love living on the east coast. specifically the mid atlantic region. last weekend i was able to go into nyc on friday to see a college friend, then on saturday i drove to outside philly to pick up one of the college best friends to continue on our way to baltimore to see another good college friend for her housewarming party. i love that  i'm closeish to many of my friends and i am able to see people often. i guess i'm still loving the fact i'm not 3000 miles away and can decide hey, lets go to baltimore for a party. and i love getting out of town and going somewhere for the weekend. especially now, that i'm not doing much.

so here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend!

me, katie and jackie at rockefeller center!

st. pat's cathedral in nyc

the tree at rockefeller center - and that guy is totally proposing! she said yes!

megan, me and jeanne at the housewarming!

so nyc was fun with the girls. i hadn't seen either of them in soo long. i hadn't seen katie since graduation and i saw jackie a few times when i was living in ireland and she was in london. so it was fun to walk around and catch up. and i love nyc at christmas. 

and then saturday morning i picked up jeanne and we went to baltimore for megan's housewarming.(the three of us ran the half-marathon together) she just bought an adorable house in baltimore and so we jung out and helped her decorate her christmas tree and then the party started. it was fun to meet her friends and everyone was great and it was a fun time. i drank a ton of wine. yay and it was so funny. she got wine from a local maryland vineyard and bought a few bottles of wassail. and it totally put me in the mood. most people didn't know what it was so megan would sing "here we come a wassailing among the trees so green" and it was hilarious. so we heated it up and i was in heaven. i really miss mulled wine from ireland at this time of the year. so i drank a few mugs of it and was quite happy. but the best part of the night comes from the bars later on... so i wore purple tights to give my clothes some color. and so i'm drinking and a guy comes over to talk to me... and remember i'm in baltimore and it is a huge sports bar and the ravens are playing the steelers the next day in a big game. so after chatting with him for a minute he goes "did you wear those purple tights for the ravens" i laugh and go no. his response "well, they are really turning me on" i was like omg, get me out of here! but it was just a fun night out and i was glad i went down for her party. 

so other than that just trying to keep warm, i'm not a fan of this weather. and trying to get christmas cards written, and i'm doing the planning for europe. i really need to just bite the bullet and book flights. because my plan is to leave jan 13th, which is rapidly getting closer. i looked up all the trains and have those saved, i looked up hostels and have those all saved. so now i just have to click to purchase everything. which is kinda scary. i've never traveled for this long before, but i'm excited and i know it will be an awesome adventure. any recommendations for amsterdam,cologne, zurich,vienna, budapest, bratislvaia, prague or frankfort? 

happy wednesday :)

end of november

so november was not a very blog worthy month for me. just not a lot going on in my life, being at home and not really doing anything this month. but december should be better as all my weekends are busy with traveling to see friends. so that makes me happier that i have things to do. as november was a hard month for me.

so everything is going ok. i've subbed a few days which is always interesting. and i have a little rant. this is mostly aimed at high school teachers. please leave lesson plans. i don't understand how you don't have emergency plans somewhere, so i can keep your 27 crazy juniors under-control. or at least email or call a co-worker and say hey can you give this to the sub... seriously how hard is that?!? last year in my department we all did it - i would email 2 of my co-workers my plans if i was sick and i'd text one of them as well. i just wish teachers had to sub for a few days to see how crappy it is when you don't leave plans. uuughhh!

ummm, had a good thanksgiving. it was the usual family at my aunt's house, nothing too crazy.
went out to dinner with some good friends from high school which was fun. we try to do it every year around thanksgiving, as who knows where we all are. we totally drove our server crazy, as we were pretty chatty and took a while to order and then after desert talked for a while. but it wasn't crowded and there were other people there, so he wasn't waiting on us.

my high school friends :) 

i also finally joined the 21st century last week. i got a droid! i am loving it so far. i'm still figuring out what apps are good. any you recommend? 

and the gym is going well, trying to get into a routine. but omg, do i sweat. after 30 minutes on the elliptical i'm bright red and gross. and i'm wearing shorts and a tank top. i have no idea how the girls who are in perfect makeup, sweats and a hoodie do it. 

and i've been reading a lot. i've read 15 books in november. and i'm starting today "confessions of a prarie bitch: how i survived nellie oleson and learned to love being hated" the title sparked me to grab it at the library and it is a autobio of the girl who played nellie oleson on little house on the prairie. 

so earlier this week my friend emily sent me a link to a sports illustrated article about rowing. that i recommend to everyone. it is one of the most inspirational things i've read and just shows why i absolutely love rowing. plus the article does a great job of explaining what a coxswain is (which is what i was on college) and i shared it with my seniors and coach. you will need a box of tissues though!

so happy tuesday!

random

so i joined a gym today. i've been wanting to for a while and decided i need something to do and i miss running (and it is getting cold) so i started looking up gym memberships by my house. i had looked into it last year, but with ski season and not getting home until 7ish i decided to wait. so i really wanted to take classes - when i was in ireland i loved my cardio classes and it was motivation to work out. plus i like the group factor (i blame it on playing group sports my entire life) but the few gyms by my house with classes were $60-80 a month... ummm, a little high. so i was talking to my mom and she suggested the new planet fitness that is about 20 minutes from my house. so i looked them up online and today went in and signed up. it is a little further from my house, but at $20 a month (i went with their premium package, basic is $10 a month) and no contract i decided i'll try it out and see how i like it. they don't have classes and they are a no-frills kinda place. but i know people who love it. and for such a good price. plus i'm excited to start working out again and getting my muscles back. 

i'm also bought a mattress and i'm getting a new phone this week too. i'm getting a queen plush pillowtop (so excited for a big bed) and a wrought iron looking bedframe. when the bed is delivered i'll have to take pictures. i can't wait for it! and i'm finalllly eligible for a new phone. so i'l getting the droid incredible on friday. i'll finally be joining the 21st century! (and after this week i'm on a strict no shopping policy, especially since i'm wanting to go to europe) 

so the last week has been good - pretty quiet. i was doing a major room clean last week. every year i go through my room and clean like everything. and just recycle and trash as much as i can. i was pretty successful. and also went through my clothes and filled a very large garbage bag full to donate. i also bought a new bookshelf. i can't wait for my new bed to be in the room! it was fun going through all the random things - i found the 12 pint glasses i stole from living in ireland, all the old letters from my pen pals and other friends, all my photo albums and everything. so glad it is less cluttered!

and i went and saw harry potter 7 on friday morning with erin! i really had no desire to see it. i didn't see the 6th movie but when we were talking on thursday night she mentioned going and i wasn't working, so why not. i enjoyed it and it was crazy how crowded the theatre was at 10am! 

annnnd i'm seriously planning a eurotrip. for january/february. 4 weeks. ireland/amsterdam/cologne/zurich/vienna/budapest/bratislava/prague. i'm trying to figure out train schedules and what is easier to do. buy direct or do a rail pass. flights from newark/shannon and then prague/newark are $725. i'd love to do the whole thing for about $3000. so that's my goal. i know ireland/amsterdam/zurich are going to be more expensive. but especially traveling alone i won't be spending as much because i won't really be going out as much. so just researching right now. but i want this to happen. i miss traveling so much. and when else am i going to be given time to do this? 

so happy thanksgiving week :)

any fun plans? 

back to nj....

hi blog. i've kinda missed you. i've opened up a new post about 4 times in the last while, but i just get distracted or realize i don't have much to say. so i'm back in new jersey for the foreseeable future. i'm trying to figure out what to do with my life. i absolutely hate that i don't have a job. it makes me feel worthless. i know it wasn't my fault that i was let go, but i was a great teacher. and i just hate that it is almost impossible to find a job. and i pretty much have to wait until the spring/summer to actually know anything. and i just hate that i feel i am in limbo right now.

i've been home a week. and it hasn't been horrible, but i just feel so lost. i subbed a few days, but i hate it. i don't like that i don't know if i'll be working or not, who knows what horror of a class i'll end up in. and the 3 days i subbed, i just was frustrated. i was 3rd grade yesterday and was just ahhhhh, by the end of the day.  and i was middle school phys ed on friday and i had never been more disrespected in my life by 6/7th graders. so we'll see how long this subbing thing will last. i can do 3 days a week with unemployment, and i think as much as i dislike it - it gives me something to do. i need to change my preferences though so i am no longer doing elementary school. i am not as patient as i used to be.

but i have had some fun. my last few days in dc were a blast. the end of cycle party was hilarious. and i needed an awesome night out like that. drinking waaaay too much, dancing, annie's story, talking about rowing, jeanette and i laughing about everything with ross, and having fun. i'm really going to miss a few of my dc favs.

mj and i 

jeanette and i with our tights!

ellie and i - i lived with her this fall. we had a lot of fun!

and i hung out with becca and we saw morning glory saturday night and it was adorable, i loved it. it was pretty funny, and it wasn't super chick-flickish/all about guys which i liked. so i recommend seeing it! and then sunday i went hiking with erin. we frolicked around high point state park and just enjoyed the gorgeous autumn weather!

erin2 hiking

highest point in nj

so just trying to keep myself busy and not freaking out too much about my life. i'm doing a massive room clean - like going through everything and hopefully getting rid of loads. i'm trying to become less of a packrat... we'll see. i'm buying a new bed soon, and well the fact that i'm living at home longer i'm trying to enjoy it, so new bed and a clean/less cluttered room will be nice.

and in fun news - prince william and kate are engaged! i am so excited. my shot at being a princess is gone, but i adore her and they are a great couple, so i wish them the best.

and rascal flatts new cd comes out today! so i need to make a trip to get the cd! yay :)