ny pre-wedding fun

over the weekend i was on an adventure for jeanne's shower & bachelorette weekend. lots of travel by different methods but it was worth it! thursday evening i flew up to philly where amy & kaity picked me up at the airport and we headed back to jeanne's for a quick catch up but amy & jeanne had to work the on friday and we didn't get to their house until after midnight. friday morning kaity and i worked on some of the decorations and things for the shower, ran a few errands and then drove from philly to westchester, ny, then jeanne and travis met us later and then amy after she drove up from work. we spent friday night at the lake house hanging out and talking and just relaxing.

saturday was jeanne's shower so we spent the morning getting ready, decorating and then wedding showering it up. it turned out great with minimal drama and it was fun to see a bunch of college friends who i haven't seen in a while! 

amy, me, kaity & jeanne at the shower

friends before we hit the city

 then right after the shower we headed into nyc for the bachelorette! after checking into the hotel and getting ready we started our evening of fun! we got recs for places in the city from one of my hs friends as well as a few of jeanne's hs friends who were meeting us in the city. we went to teqa for dinner which was amazing! the best margaritas, the guac & nachos were to die for and then we all had different types of fancy tacos. i had a potato taco and it was amazing. it was fried potatoes with all the traditional toppings. so it was delish! i will have to go back next time i'm in the city! then we headed out to a few bars and just had fun being silly and dancing and laughing. i was a bit mad watching the end of the devils game 2 where they lost again in overtime. so they are down 2-0 right now in the finals. then after the bars we headed to a karaoke bar where we ended the night singing a ton of songs and just generally laughing and having a fun night! we crashed around 2am

ready to hit the city

we got so many cat calls walking to dinner

with kaity at dinner

with b&b at karaoke

karaoke

sunday morning after we all got up we headed to a diner for a greasy breakfast and then they all 

delish cupcakes! 

headed back to westchester to head home. but my flight wasn't until 8pm out of newark so i spent the day with my friend susan. it was a chill day we spent most of it just talking and catching up but also getting some shake shack! yessss - finally having it in nyc! (i had it at a washington nationals game last summer in dc) and then to suz's favorite cupcakes in the city - two little red hens!  we were going to walk around central park but it started to rain so we skipped that.

shake shack! love love love!

so i was going to take the train to newark airport from the city, but suz recommend the bus, it is quicker and i wouldn't have to make a few transfers and that's what she uses. so perfect. my flight was at 8 and it is newark so you never know what security will be like. so i figured get to the airport around 6:30. so i leave suz's at 5 to take the subway to grand central to get the bus. i'm there at 5:30 and the next bus was 5:45 - perfect. well at 6 and it still hasn't shown up i start to get nervous - i text suz who calls and says there should be a bus there in the next few minutes. (they are supposed to be every 15 minutes) so I look and see the next train times and by then it would be like 7:30. (flight was boarding at 7:37) and i was like shitttttt. and i knew my only option at this time was a taxi. and i knew it was going to be expensive. luckily there were 2 asian guys also waiting for the bus so i asked them to share a cab with. so at 6:30 we get a cab - oh yea it was raining so there were no cabs! the driver was great especially with my i need to be there asap and despite some bad traffic getting into the lincoln tunnel gets me to the airport at 7:15.   and the security line actually wasn't horrible but for someone who only had 15 minutes that wasn't going to cut it. (it looked to be about 30 minutes, which for newark terminal c is good!) so they let me into the priority boarding security line so i was at my gate with a few minutes to spare. so then and only then did i actually breathe. the flight home was long - were were on the ground in newark a long time and i had a killer headache from the stressful getting to airport experience. so luckily i slept 3/4 of the flight. it was soooo nice to sleep in my own bed last night after that!

today was quiet - enjoyed a lazy morning and i thought about going to the beach but it rained on & off most of the day. booo. i had my dress for jeanne's wedding altered and started packing for my trip to colorado focusing on the camping aspect and making sure i had everything i needed and making a list and figuring out how i'm getting all my camping gear in my big suitcase and then my regular conference things in my carryon. so funny to attempt to pack for 2 conferences and then 3 days camping, but i am a packing wizard. i am just soooo excited to head back to colorado and even more excited to go camping in the rockies!! so tomorrow is just actually packing, maybe the beach and then going to the first outdoor concert series down at waterfront park! then i'm off to colorado on wednesday! woooo!

annnnd over the weekend was little brother's prom! i can't believe he is that old!  

i only post on monday

so apparently i only post on monday anymore.

last week just kept getting busier as the week went on. i was scheduled for mostly nights at retail job which ment that i could sub during the day. so i ended up working tuesday day, wednesday night, subbing thursday, subbing friday and working saturday night and sunday night and subbing monday. plus volunteering thursday and friday night. so the later part of the week was crazy! good crazy but a oops erin didn't really sit at the computer week.

so in reality not a really exciting week. at retail i was put on registers all week, which i enjoyed. i'm pretty good at it and i picked up quick so i have a feeling i'll be there a lot. and doing shipments on tues/thurs mornings. so if i could get a great schedule going of sub mon/wed/fri and retail tues/thurs am and one-two nights i'd be a happy camper.

i volunteered two nights last week for house tours. so that was a fun thursda/friday night. i was in the cutest garden thursday night in a gorgeous house that was quite livable as the family had 4 small children. and then friday night i was in the complete opposite. i was in the "living room" of a super flamboyant gay male that seriously was a museum. i mean who owns a greek urn from 2000BC (yes - BC) or a horse statue from the tang dynasty of china (618-900) or a cezanne, picasso, rembrant... charleston magazine did a piece on the house - check it out! i didn't get to go upstairs but the downstairs was worth it. so i had fun pointing out fun pieces in the living room to people friday night, and many remembered me from the garden thursday night, so that made it more fun.

after work saturday night i met amy, pam, julia and some other friends downtown for drinks where i ended up drinking quite heavily in the 1.5 hours i was out to get caught up. but we had a fun night playing quarters and laughing. sunday morning met up with julia for brunch. we went to the tattooed moose which was delish. we ended up getting lunch but my grilled cheese and duck fat fries were fab! and then we went to the charleston library's book sale where i ended up with 10 new books for $11!

and today i subbed the classes from hell. more on that to come. buuuuut my twin got engaged today! eeeeeee! sooo happy for her & andy! when she called me this afternoon i could tell as soon as she said hello so i started yaying and jumping up and down.

so hopefully i'll post a bit more this week!

birthday weekend

thanks for all the birthday wishes! it was a fun birthday weekend and it turned into a mini-road trip along the way and getting to see lots of friends!

i was off friday and despite things i still want to do on my dc list i was a lazy bum and didn't really do anything but relax, read, completely redid my blog, and watched some trashy tv. i kinda hate that i spent a day off doing nothing, but oh well. then in the evening i met up with mj, patricia and others to go see "stupid, crazy, love." and i really enjoyed it. it was more of a romantic comedy and i was seriously laughing the whole time. steve carell was pretty funny and ryan gosling was extremely sexy (he has only gotten hotter as he's gotten older)  and i love emma stone! there were a few awkward bits but overall it was funny, a cute plot and had some turns in there that were unexpected. i'd recommend seeing it!

ptrish being funny with the sangria

so after the movies patricia and i had made plans earlier in the week for sangria. so after the movie we ended up in chinatown and went to las tascas for some sangria and tapas, which were delish. we split a pitcher of sangria and had some great convos about life and everything and might have been a bit tipsy... but we decided since it was just after midnight to head to fado next door for another drink.

well it was now officially my birthday (and my mom called at midnight exactly as she was driving home with my sister from a tim mcgraw concert and kept sending me the funniest texts all night) and so we just ordered our drinks and were trying to find a spot to stand and patricia wanted to play "have you met erin" and "it's her birthday" but we were beat to the punch when a guy comes over to me and goes my friend over there thinks you're cute and well you should talk to him as it is his birthday... so patricia goes, OMG no way it is her birthday too. so we start chatting and his was from northern nj and it was pretty funny. so we take a birthday shot and soon find our way on the dance floor. and then i became that girl drunkenly making out on a dance floor. (which i haven't done since i left ireland) and it was a pretty funny evening. i mean really doesn't that start like a great beginning of a rom-com? meeting in a bar both having the same birthday. seriously i can't make this shit up. welcome to my life.  anyway as i'm leaving dc in 11 days it was a fun story and reminded me that i don't like randomly hooking up with guys i meet in bars so it is just another fun story i have.

watching movies in
the backyard

saturday was fun (after i woke up with a bit of a hangover) but i was headed to jeanne's house for travis's 30th birthday bash! it was a great chance to see a bunch of my college friends who i know i won't be seeing in a while and to have fun grilling, drinking in their backyard and just enjoying catching up with some of my favorite people. jeanne did make my favorite funfetti and strawberry frosting cake for me. and for some reason i was anti-camera so i didn't end up with any pictures from the evening. but the best part was that jeanne to surprise travis rented an inflatable big screen & projector so she could show a movie in their backyard. which was so much fun for us all to be sitting in their backyard watching a movie. buuut my recommendation is don't show "forgetting sarah marshall" on a large screen in your backyard. there are a few too many scenes where we were like oops, good thing i don't have many neighbors! but it was a great way to celebrate and a fun way to spend my birthday!

becca's adorable kitten and her cat 

so sunday morning twin and i had tried to make plans, but she had to work (silly girl scouts) but we made plans for the week i'm home. but i had been trying to make plans with becca and since i was in pa i figured might see what she is up to. and she was free so i drove to harrisburg and spend sunday evening with her and had fun catching up and just chatting and enjoying spending time with her and then was up super early on monday morning to drive back to dc for work.

with some of my staff

yesterday was the last day of session - so we cleaned up and got everything organized and had a little party for our staff to celebrate the summer. it is so nice to not be working 120+ hour weeks and well for the next 2 weeks back to a regular 40 hours. and i have lots of dinner plans this week and i'm seeing TAYLOR SWIFT tomorrow night with patricia! we bought tickets last week and decided we needed to relive the summer of 2009 when we met and both were obsessed. i can't wait! it is crazy i have 10 days left in dc and then i'm home for a week and then off to charleston. where is this summer going?



how was your weekend?

what i've been up to

so after posting 3 times in 3 days i disappear for the next 2.5 weeks! but welcome to my life in the summer. i just finished my second and last session and it was a great 10 days. i didn't just survive it like i did the first one i rocked it. i had a blast this time - i knew what to do and i was much more confident in my decision making, problem solving and i actually got to hang out with my staff and i was in bed before 12:30 almost every day! yay! so it was a great last few days, granted it was crazy but i was happy with it and i really enjoyed it!

so here's what i've done in the month of july so far!

had 2 great days home in jersey!

celebrated the 4th of july with 300 hs students at gravely point in dc

yay 4th of july! it rained for about 3 minutes.

 

a little black cat roulette with ellie and friends

relaxed poolside the day before the conference started

a large and very scary windy storm hit us at fdr/tj when i was there with 332 hs students.

another fabulous capital hill day. where we were early and i got to speak for 15 minutes on the HOUSE FLOOR about the history of the building and congress. pretty awesome. i also finally got a gallery pass from my congressman (whom i really dislike) and went and watched some congress in action

took 332 hs students to nats stadium to watch members of congress play baseball. it was pretty hilarious!

dinner danced my way down the potomac with 332 hs students

and now i'm back to a regular lifestyle. not working 95 hour weeks and dealing with some of the crazy i've seen. i'm happy i took this challenge and pc'd for the summer but it is nice to know i can go to dinner and happy hours with friends and not be worried about getting a phone call at 3am so i can actually get  a nights sleep without being panicked. 

so i woke up this morning to a fun surprise - a facebook friend request from a girl i worked with the summe of 2006 and since then i've added a few other coworkers from that summer. i worked at a summer academic camp at a boarding school in winston-salem, nc. so that has been fun to catch up with a few coworkers from long ago who we had a great 6 weeks with and some fabulous memories!

and now i'm enjoying my day off and planning for some adventures and trying to get my life organized as i kinda was living in a bubble the last 10 days. 

how are you? how is your july treating you?

hiking, history and concerts!

i had one of the best weekends in a while! full of some awesome people and things i love to do! i had plans to see brett dennen in concert saturday night, go to lunch with my little and glittle sunday afternoon and see sugarland in concert sunday night - so already a lot of fun! buuut my friend annie calls me on saturday morning and we decided to go to harpers ferry, wv for the day! i'd been wanting to go for a while for the history and for a lonnnng time as the appalachian trail headquarters is also in harpers ferry. so it was a faaaaabulous day - mid 80s and sunny.  and it was nice to get out of dc and play in nature!

so of course i was going to harpers ferry for the history - my love of the civil war. now the john brown raid on the harpers ferry armory is quite connected to the all the events leading up to the cause of the civil war and harpers ferry has some interesting civil war history - a small battle and it was a key position for both union/confederate troops and it changed hands a few times and when west virginia was created it was a part of it. so my historydorkness was in full force! and luckily annie had been to harpers ferry a bunch of times for work so she knew all the fun things and facts and could get just as excited as i could! here is the replica armory - the original one was destroyed during the civil war but going to all of the national park sites was fun - they have a bunch of cute little exhibits in historic harpers ferry. and we listened to a civil war solider speak about the battle and walked along the canal and i just really enjoyed it!

so the other reason why i was super stoked to go to harpers ferry was the appalachian trail goes through harpers ferry and it is the appalachian trail conservancy headquarters! and with my life goal to hike all 2170 miles it was great to see the headquarters! and i got to talk to a few people hiking the whole trail this summer and the two people working were great! we chatted about the AT in new jersey and i LOVED it!

yay appalachian trail!! 

the conservancy is about a mile north of town and it was a great walk but YAY!

annie and i at the headquarters!

annie and i hiking the appalachian trail! it was her first time hiking on it! and now i can add west virginia to my bits hiked - granted it was only about a mile...

so after an amazing sunny day full of hiking and history i went into the district to meet up with two of my friends to see brett dennen at the 930 club! now i didn't really know brett dennen but it sounded like a fun night when my friend asked me about it and well why not! but brett dennen was incredible and he picked up a new fan after saturday night! the show was a blast and so much fun! we went to a great bar down the street from the 930 the american ice - which was this great little place with amazing beer and great food - very limited menu but great southern food! and after the concert we went to a few bars and it was a fabulous night!

                                                                                       on sunday i headed to baltimore to see my fabulous little and glittle for lunch! it was great to see them both and catch up and just have some zta family loving! i love that i've become closer to both of them since graduation and me moving back to the states. i've been down to baltimore a few times to see them both and little's bachelorette and wedding fun! so we spent a few hours talking about life, grad school, love, work, boys and everything in between! 

and then after lunch i went to meet a blog/twitter friend amanda! i've been reading her blogs for a while (she no longer blogs) and we've been twitter friends for a while too and thanks to the amazing internet this little meet up happened. amanda tweeted about wanting to see sugarland and i'd been trying to get someone to go with me and was honestly thinking about going by myself. amanda tweeted to see if anyone wanted to go and well it seemed perfect! we'd been trying to meet for a while so this was a great way to meet up! and we had a great time - it felt like catching up with an old friend and the night was spectacular!

matt nathanson and little big town opened for sugarland and we had lawn seats and were able to get right in the front center of lawn so that was fabulous! and i love matt nathanson - i wished he had played more and some of his older stuff i listened to. and little big town was fab! there is just something amazing about lawn seats in a summer country concert! i just wish i had my cowboy hat!

annnnd then sugarland came out and they were faaaaaabulous! jennifer nettles has one amazing voice and sugarland puts on a great show! i was singing and dancing the whole time - but not like super drunk mom who kept trying to dance on the sidewalk in front of us and must have been told eleventy-billion times to get off the sidewalk by event staff. but they played all their great songs - and hearing "little miss" live well - it brought me to tears. when this song first came out this fall i was singing along in the car one day and just broke down singing along and well hearing it live pretty much did the same thing.  but they were definitely having a blast up there and they did a few covers and had fun at the end doing "the end of the world" with matt nathanson and little big town! so it was a fabulous night and it was great to finally meet another blog friend!

so life this week has been good - super crazy at work but loving it. and got to see a college friend for dinner last night so that was fun and just looking forward to the long weekend and the bachelorette party for a girl i rowed with in college and amy & jeanne are coming into town and hopefully doing something outdoorsy on monday. i need to enjoy some sunshine and trees! and i can't believe it is wednesday night already! ahhhhhhh - time is flying by!

sweet 16, friends and cherry blossoms

such a busy and fun last few days! you would think that with all this traveling for work that i'd enjoy my time off at home right? haha, then you haven't been reading this blog long enough. so i was all over the place the last few days.

let's start off with my friday night! so i mentioned that i crazily bought last minute sweet sixteen tickets for the prudential center in newark for my dad and i for the north carolina game. he had gone years ago with my grandfather to see carolina play and since they were playing so close why not. such a great time! the carolina/marquette game was fun, but for a basketball fan kinda boring. after about 5 minutes into the game when unc went on a 19-0 point run and marquette hadn't scored in 9 minutes you knew it was over. but it was great getting to watch my favorite college basketball team play in the sweet sixteen. but the ohio state/kentucky game was amazing! now i was cheering for kentucky for

my bracket (which i'm still going strong, despite having pitt as my champ and according to espn i'm one of 2.1% of the 5.9 million people who picked 2 of the final four teams) but behind us was kentucky fans and next to me was ohio. so that made it more fun! and the game was great too! with the last seconds kentucky made a basket and they won! the atmosphere was just so intense and everyone was super friendly and i am so glad i went! 





so i was up early on saturday to head down to pennsylvania for the weekend. for some weird twist of fate amy, jeanne, kaity and i were all together for a few hours on saturday! kaity was visiting philly for school and amy and i had made plans to see a regatta on sunday. so we enjoyed saturday afternoon going wedding dress shopping with jeanne and out to lunch, just catching up! it has been fabulous to have the 4 of us together twice in the last month! and then walburn came down saturday night after kaity left because the regatta sunday (which we realized on saturday afternoon, was really on saturday not sunday - so no rowing... but still great times with friends) and so we had a kinda crazy night. we just went out in the cute town jeanne lives in for dinner at an irish pub (you know my love for these) and all shared a bunch of apps and drinks and just talked about rowing, weddings, life, boys, grad school and work. and then we went to a bar. now it was a kinda quiet saturday evening, and we sat at the bar and ordered drinks. i've been on a blue moon kick and well i was the first to order and mine had an orange slice as usual. well they ran out of oranges, but one male bartender was eating carrots and offered us one to put in our drinks... and then the fun started. so they kept bringing us fun shots to try (not complaining) and so on our second round and they were still out of oranges they brought us orange juice (who would ruin a beer with that) and earlier people were playing beer pong and the table was empty and so we decided to play (last time i played - college) and it was pretty funny! and then after that we just had fun and the bartenders invited us to stay after closing, so we spent an extra hour at the bar chatting with them and just laughing about everything. so after we finally got home at 3.30am (longest i've been out in a while) and it was fun and a great night out with the girls!

me, kaity, amy and jeanne!

girls on the town 

and then sunday we hung out around the house and then walked around chesnut hill, pa enjoying the day each other's company. and then sunday afternoon i headed down to the dc area. i'm was looking for a place to live before i move down in april, so i had mon & tues to search. so hopefully i found something - i find out thursday if i got the place i liked. so it was fun little trip. saw patricia and we commiserated our basketball losses (kansas for her and unc for me) and i saw one of my connecticut friends on monday and tuesday before i left i braved the crowds and saw some cherry blossoms!

so i'm back in jersey for a few days and went to the devils game with meg & suz tonight. had fun with them and catching up and watching some hockey. it made me feel like i was 17 again, but great at the same time.

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.