Showing posts with label conn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conn. Show all posts

Saturday, July 30

26!


first birthday!
happy birthday to me!

i am now 26 and pretty excited for it.
25 has been an interesting year - one full of uncertainty, change and travel.
and not where i expected myself to be.
i never expected at 25 to be collecting unemployment, living at home, working temporary jobs and at times feeling so unsure of myself. i've always been a planner and knew exactly what i wanted to be doing with my life. but this year has taught me to be flexible and to adapt and to enjoy what you are doing and to have fun with life and well to have a plan z.

25th birthday!
while 25 was at times a rough year i did have some great parts to it. i had a great birthday weekend up in connecticut, spent a few glorious days with amy in acadia national park, ran a half marathon, had a fabulous fall working conferences in dc, went to charleston, sc with amy, had a lot of fun weekends with friends up & down the east coast, went to europe for 3 weeks in january by myself (zurich, prague, budapest, vienna, cologne, amsterdam) and back to my favorite city and second home cork, went to 5 new states working conferences around the US (washington, indiana, alabama, mississippi, texas), wished george washington a happy birthday with my best friends, saw my carolina tarheels play in the sweet 16, got to see my friends a lot, moved to dc for the spring/summer, went to a friend's wedding, many mini road trips, a chestertown reunion , saw sugarland, U2 and keith urban, successfully ran two conferences for 350 high school students each session in washington dc. had a fabulous weekend saying goodbye to mystic and decided to move to charleston,sc.

so with all the uncertainty and the kinda living at home and job searching and sometimes feeling like a failure i really did have a great 25. it was a major learning experience and i gained some awesome skills out of it and well i had a positive outlook on life and i made the best out of my transitional year. i gave myself a goal of finding a teaching job by september 2011 and then i would find a different path. and well that end line is in site without a job - so i'm finding a new path and am taking the huge leap to move to charleston and well hoping for a great 26! i'm looking forward to a new city, meeting new people and hopefully getting myself back on track. i've loved this year but i want to be more stable and less nomadic.



so the goals of 2011 - let's see how i'm doing...

- find a full time job where i am happy (preferably teaching) -  hopefully charleston will have that in store. i've liked what i've been doing this summer but there is no stability
- move out and get my own place - kinda - i've been in arlington since mid april and i'm moving to charleston with amy at the end of august
-continue traveling both in the US and internationally (i would LOVE to get out west again) - i'm doing well on this one! with my 3 weeks in europe and 5 new states so far! must keep traveling! i have a friend in colorado this fall i want to visit
- read 100 books - i'm probably pretty close - with the kindle i haven't really kept a running list like i did in 2010 but i'm reading up a storm. (must go through and create a list so i can keep track)
- continue working out 3-4 times a week and run another half marathon - nope - with the crazy hours and traveling for work just hasn't happened. i want to do a half this fall in the south carolina area as i want to run a full in spring 2012
- save an additional $12,000 this year - biggest no - i wish i had $12,000 in my account right now. going to europe and having to use some money from savings this had my account not happy right now
- scrapbook more - not so much with traveling and conferences. once i'm in charleston i want to do more
- continue doing my photo365 - yesss! i'm doing awesome with this! and i plan to do  26 as well! i love photo 365-ing!
- cross 5 things off my 30 by 30 list - working on it. i've been to 5 new states, 6 new countries and a book signing. things are happening
- blog more (125 posts) - i've only written 49 posts so far so making the goal of 125 will involve a lot more blogging, like 3 posts a week.
- a relationship - had some fun this spring but my nomadness makes a relationship difficult. maybe in charleston?
- continue looking for the best in every situation - i've done a lot of this! and well just gotta keep staying positive and it all works out!
- enjoy life and have fun! i had a lot of fun (see above) and really am enjoying myself even though this isn't where i expected to be in life...



so happy birthday to me! i can't wait to see what 26 has in store for me but i will enjoy it and have fun when i can!

Friday, July 29

mystic and country music

so this was supposed to be a recap of last weekend in connecticut, but somehow it is friday and well it will be a recap in what i've been up to in pictures because well i've gotten horrible at blogging. 

so last weekend i had off friday and decided to go to mystic to see amy and to say goodbye to mystic and all the adventures i had visiting amy and also living up there twice. so it was a fabulous weekend and nice to get away. i took the train up thursday night after work and was able to enjoy 3 glorious days!
sun rising over coastal connecticut - i was somewhere between old saybrook and mystic when i took this. this is why i miss living along the coast.
friday during the day while amy was at work i walked around mystic, went to the beach along the long island sound and read and enjoyed the relaxingness of the beach. but it was also over 100 so i spent most of the time in the water up to my waist reading my kindle to keep cool!

then we went to all my favorite places in mystic with amy and sarah! pizzetta for dinner (mac & cheese pizza and a bottle of red) followed by drinks at harp - where a married couple on a date night bought us shots of tequila. and then we ended the night at margaritas for some yummy margs and chips!
 
saturday we went to the book barn in niantic - my favoritest used book store in the world and i bought some books. i got 2 more of the irish immigration research books i've been collecting. which was exciting. and a few other fun historical and other books i'd been looking for. and that night amy's brother was in town and we all went and saw harry potter 7 and more drinks around mystic!

sunday afternoon we went to napatree point. the beach we usually went to and i was even more in love with it because i was reading a book about the hurricane of 1938, which destroyed many of the beachside communities in new england, including napatree which had 39 houses which were wiped to see in a few hours due to the storm surge. pbs did a great show on the hurricane - yay american experience! 26 minutes into the show is a great thing on napatree and a family who survived.

so since the weather was a bit cooler and it was overcast we just hiked around napatree to the fort and laughed about the last time we went to the fort and we had to ford a river... so after a few more hours of fun in connecticut i hopped back on the train to dc and got in at 3am.
and then i was off to work and went to play at mt. vernon with a group of students and some other fun dc places. it was fun to say hi to george washington! 
and well now that i'm done with programs and i'm just finishing up things at work for the next few weeks - we manage to also have some fun. here is annie in her fort. 

and then annie's going away party - she had to leave a few weeks early as she starts law school in two weeks. we had a hilarious evening at nooshi in dc. 

and well we know my love of country music and concerts... so last week i kept hearing at keith urban was coming to dc on the radio so i said hey, why not? so last night the fabulous mj and i went and saw keith urban and jake owen! 

woooo nosebleed seats! but it was still so much fun!

"i wanna put you in a song"

we had a fun night dancing and singing along to keith urban. and i love him.


so now it is friday again and i have some fun weekend plans. and it is my birthday this weekend. so i'm looking forward to the next few weeks in dc. i'm heading home to jersey on the 12th and then home for a  few days before i pack up and move to charleston. so it is going to be a busy few weeks but i'm looking forward to the exciting new things happening over the next few weeks!

Wednesday, December 29

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.






Monday, December 13

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?

Thursday, December 9

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?