Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Pinterest Wednesday!

Well, I've finally gotten myself out of bed and actually functioning today after a fun-filled and food-heavy Christmas Day! (In addition, I'm also battling a cold, so I've been sleeping A LOT and super late...good thing for Winter Break!) 

I'm linking up with Michelle from The Vintage Apple for another week of Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday! 

Here are some of my favorite pins from the week!


1.) Umm SO true. Haha...

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2.) Haha! Umm yeahhh ;) :)

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3.) This frame is adorable! I love the colors. :)

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4.) Oooh, this is a fun home decoration idea! You buy a plain outdoor mat and then spray paint it whatever color you want--love it.

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5.) Love this nail design. I know I'm obsessed with my nails, which was made evident by the 4 different nail polishes I got for Christmas as well as a "Easy Nail Painting Kit"! :) 


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6.) Hahaha! I know I would NEVER have the nerve to say something like this to a police officer (hopefully this would never even be a possibility!!), but still...absolutely hilarious! :) 

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I hope you all are having a fabulous Wednesday!!! :)

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Resolutions in Motion Final Recap

A little while ago, I decided to participate in a fun project called Resolutions in Motion.

 

My resolution was to start running more often and get into a better exercise routine, which unfortunately was much harder during this busy holiday season than I had expected.

The first 3 weeks, I started out super motivated and ready to get this new exercise plan going---I did short runs about 3 times a week, which was not quite up to my goal but definitely better than I had been doing before!

The last few weeks though, I was SUPER swamped with stuff for work (aren't we all? Sigh...) and totally fell off of my new "routine". Boo! There would be a span of a few super busy days where I would literally forget to exercise at all. 

So I'm a little bummed that I wasn't able to kick-start my running routine during these resolution period, BUT the good news is that I do feel even more motivated now than before. Although I didn't "meet" my resolution, I do think it helped me realize how much I want to change that and I'm definitely going to do my best to stick with running/exercising more!  I actually just finished a 30 minute run a little while ago--yay! (Not just so I could write that in here, I promise, hahaha!) 

I had lots of fun reading about other bloggers' resolutions and am really glad I participated in this fun project! :)

Friday, December 21, 2012

The Vintage Modern Wife Giveaway!

I'm participating in a giveaway hosted by Stephanie from the adorable blog The Vintage Modern Wife! The winner gets a pair of sparkly Uggs!! SO cute! Check it out!



This month has been another great one. It's been so busy over here on my end (finals, family ski trip, Mathew getting hurt from that trip, Pearl being a menace, last minute Christmas shopping...the list goes on and on). The one thing keeping me sane? These lovely sponsors. They've really been great and I hope you all visit their blogs and get to know each and every one of them. They're all amazing! My sponsors for this month have been MORE than generous once more and pulled together to get you one great prize- SPARKLE UGG BOOTS! As it finally starts to get cold around here, these boots are the PERFECT accessory for winter. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to check out this month's "Married" Spot Sponsor

Secret Santa Swap




I had so much fun participating in the It's Giving Season swap, hosted by the lovely bloggers KellyTabitha, and Janna! Thanks girls for organizing a fabulous swap!



Gift Swap


I got some absolutely adorable gifts from my Secret Santa! Check it out: 


                               
I love everything and the funny thing is I actually almost bought those exact same dish towels myself before I got them in my package! The ornaments are going to look so cute on my tree and I can't wait to try the recipe for Monster Cookies (written on the green card in the upper left corner)! And I LOVE the sparkly nail polish! Can't wait to try it out! Thanks Secret Santa!! :) :)


I had lots of fun buying gifts for MY secret Santa, Andrea from www.glamhungrymom.com! I hope you liked your gifts, Andrea! :)

Gift swaps are always really fun--who doesn't like getting a fun package in the mail??!? :)

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Something to Think About...

I read a lot of bloggers who were talking about this yesterday and I know I will be participating with this on Tuesday. It's really hard to think about much else. My heart hurts for the community, the sweet precious little babies who lost their lives, the teachers and administrators who risked and lost their lives for their students, and the families who must be hurting so badly right now. :( 

To the Blog World and Anyone Else who Wants to Help,

Two days ago, tragedy struck so many of us in ways we did not foresee. An elementary school and small town in Connecticut was shattered by a mass shooting. We knew we wanted to help. As a side note, I would like to take this time to thank Neely and Michelle for helping organize and be so quick to come together and think of something that we could do as a blogging community. After some planning, we came up with this:



On Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence. We will post the button and that's it. Please try to not post anything else that day if possible.

 We are also raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is called The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services. Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to: 

"Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING."


Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation.

 We can't imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays. We would love for you to spread the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let's make a difference and use blogging in a positive way. Thank you in advance for participating.

 Love,
The Blog World 

Friday, December 14, 2012

There are no words....

I am absolutely heartbroken about the horrific tragedy in Connecticut today. As an elementary school teacher, my heart hurts for the poor kids, teachers and staff members who lost their lives today. NO one should ever ever have to go through something so horrible and senseless. I feel so bad for their families, the other teachers, and the precious, innocent children who witnessed such horrible things. This is literally every teacher and parent's worst nightmare coming true. Ugh. I can't imagine going through something like that--how scared the kids and teachers must have felt and what horror they must have endured--what a frightening devastating experience that must have been for all involved. 

I really wish I hadn't had to take off the school day today for a medical procedure because I so wanted to be with my students today and have been able to give them each a hug, high-five, pat on the shoulder--something to remind them that I care about them and I'm there for them...kids need as much love as possible during times like these. :( 

I know I will be constantly praying for the families and the community as they deal with the aftermath of this event. Heartbreaking. :( :(

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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Pinterest Wednesday!

Ahh!! I just cannot seem to get into a blogging routine these days! There is sooo much going on getting ready for the holidays, grading and interims for school, fun stuff with family and friends.... super craziness right now! I'm determined to get back on track starting right NOW! :)

Linking up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple for Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday! :)



1.) Super cute winter outfit! I love that sweater! :)

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2.) Ooooh, I love this! What a great way of organizing things in the bathroom!

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3.) Pretty color! Perfect for fall and winter.

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4.) Hahaha! Omg...this is scarily true, lol! I can't decide if it's sad or funny how many of these hilarious cards I can relate to! :)

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5.) Umm this is absolutely amazing. I needed to hear this! I'm going to print it out, frame it and hang it in my room so I can see this on a daily basis! :)

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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Pinterest Wednesday!

Linking up with Michelle from The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday! :)

Here are some of my favorite pins from the week!


1.) I LOVE this ring---the colors are so pretty! 

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2.) Oooh, this is a fun and adorable idea! I'm definitely going to try nail ombre sometime soon!


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3.) These are the most precious earrings! Perfect for the holidays! :)
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4.) Still a bit early to be thinking about New Year's, but I am SOOO going to make these cookies! How cute!

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5.) Omg...so true! Hahaha...

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Sunday Social!



Linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social today (a little late because it seemed to take forever to get home from a Thanksgiving jaunt up to PA--ugh traffic!)


Sunday Social

Name 4 jobs you’ve had in your life: 

I've worked as a camp counselor for many summers. I started going to a Girl Scout camp as a camper and liked it so much, I continued volunteering as a high school counselor and as an adult leader! It's always a lot of fun.

I was a toy store employee one summer during college and I LOVED it! We had weekly story time, I sometimes was paid to set up new toy displays or play with toys to show kids how they worked, and the other employees were really nice! Sadly, the store went out of business during the following winter... :(

I was a hostess at a restaurant during another summer in college. It was a pretty easy job since the restaurant was not really too busy and I got hooked up with free food/sodas whenever I wanted. Sadly, this restaurant ALSO went out of business soon after I stopped working there! (it had NOTHING to do with me obviously despite what my family might tell you --- although I guess my track record for former workplaces going out of business is not super great...whatever...hahaha)

And now I'm a teacher! Some days it's a little crazy to realize that this is my FIFTH year of teaching (all in 6th grade)---where has the time gone?? It definitely is an interesting job and I really can't picture myself doing anything else, unless someone has discovered a way to make a living as a full-time pinner on Pinterest!



Name 4 movies you would watch over and over

Ever After
It's no secret that I still do used to want to be a princess and live happily ever after with my prince and this version of Cinderella is SO GOOD! Drew Barrymore does such a great job in this movie....Seriously one of my most favorite movies! Ooh, I kind of want to go watch it now...

Mean Girls
It is such a "fetch" movie.... :) And I do try to always wear pink on Wednesdays!

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Hilarious. Sweet. Romantic. A classic in my opinion haha...

The Notebook
Ryan Gosling--need I say more? :)


Name 4 places you have lived
Cincinnati, Ohio (Where I was born and lived until I was 7 years old)
Northern Virginia (Moved to VA halfway through first grade!)
Harrisonburg, Virginia (during my four years at James Madison University)
Northern Virginia (moved back after college)


Name 4 of your favorite foods
Stacy's Pita Chips, Spaghetti, Macaroni and Cheese, Sugar Cookies (yes, my food choices make me sound about 9 years old, haha...oh well!)


Name 4 things you always carry with you
My I-Phone
Cough drops, allergy medicine, Epi-Pens, Benadryl (too many medical things!)
Wallet
Daily Planner

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Pinterest Wednesday!

I'm linking up today with Michelle from The Vintage Apple for another edition of Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday! :)



1.) I love this photo collage! What a cute way of showing favorite memories! :)

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2.) Oooh, I love this outfit! The turquoise accessories are so pretty!

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3.) Omg, black polka dotted high heels? It's like these were made for me! :)
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4.) Ahhhhh hahahaha! This is so funny!

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5.) I want this shirt SO badly! LOVE it!

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6.) I VOLUNTEER!!!!!! Hahaha...

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Resolutions in Motion GFC Hop!




Today I'm participating in and co-hosting a GFC Hop for Resolutions in Motion



You should hop on over to these fabulous blogs and participate! There are even prizes! Whooooo!! :)


Shaping Up To Be A Mom
Covered In Grace
Ramblings of a Southern Belle







Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sunday Social: Thankful

Today I'm linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social...

This week, instead of answering questions, we are all talking about what we are thankful for.. :)

Sunday Social


A little back story first:

It's been a little quiet on le blog recently. It's been a tough few months, dealing with a breakup that I really haven't talked about much here. My ex-boyfriend and I dated for about 8 months and were pretty serious (or so I thought) until he started acting a lot differently and started becoming really critical of me and certain things in my life.  It was tough going through all that, since it really was not a great breakup (are there any that really are great? haha)... It's been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, there have been some tough days and a few sleepless nights, although I am feeling much better than I was even a few weeks ago and feel even more confident that this is really the best thing for me.... 

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I'm so grateful that my family has been there for me during all this. My sisters have listened to me vent, complain, cry and have reassured me that someone better will come along for me. My parents are so sweet and have been a great support in keeping my spirits up, while not asking me too many questions or pressing me for details. Because let's be honest, there are just some days where I don't feel like rehashing it all :( 

My family is awesome.. :)

Fabulous sisters! :)


I"m also thankful for my friends who add fun, laughter and joy to my life! I feel very lucky to have friends from high school and college that have remained good friends as time has gone on, and friends/co-workers who make every-day life fun! :) My friends have also been a great support for me during this time and I'm so grateful that so many people love and care about me... :)









So many wonderful friends!! 

Most of all, I'm thankful that I have my faith in God to rely on when things get tough. I'm so thankful for the sacrifice that Jesus made for me on the cross thousands of years ago, I'm thankful that God hears my prayers and loves me. I'm thankful that I can put my trust in His plan for me and know that He loves and cares for me..


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Whew! Lots of thoughts, lots of things to be thankful for each and every day, but on a lighter note....this made me crack up! Hahaha.....

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Resolutions in Motion Update

Today is Tuesday and it is time for a Resolutions in Motion Update with Shaping Up To Be A MomCovered In Grace, and Ramblings of a Southern Belle




My goal for this 6-week project is to walk or run for 30 minutes a day five times a week.

So how did I do? 

Well, I did walk/awkwardly jog for 30 minutes twice this past week. So there's that.  Haha... :)

I'm trying to stay positive and be happy that I was able to at least be a little more active this past week and get more exercise than I have recently. This week I'm definitely hoping to find the energy/motivation to walk/run even MORE days to eventually get to my goal of five days a week!

Because last week was not totally successful, this week I'm going to help myself stay on task by doing two things differently:

-- Use the app called MyFitnessPal that my friend Emily told me about. She swears by it and has found it to be super helpful, so I'm going to give it a try! 

-- It might sound kind of silly, but I think this week I'm actually going to "schedule" workout appointments with myself and set a definite time each day that I will set aside to exercise. There are some days that just seem to fly by but I think if I have a plan of what times I can work out each day, it might help me stay on track a little better. We'll see.... :)

Monday, November 12, 2012

Weekend Update


Today I'm linking up with Sami from Sami's Shenanigans, Leeann from Join the Gossip and Dana from five30three for a Weekend Update!




I swear, this weekend was one of the first weekends in forever that I didn't feel completely swamped with work and grading! We just began our second quarter which means first quarter grades are turned in and the majority of my parent-teacher conferences are DONE! :)

My weekend started with me taking the day off Friday because of a medical procedure, so having a little extended weekend was nice.  Although for most of the day on Friday, I was in some pain -- I mostly rested after I got home from my appointment.  I got caught up on some shows I had Tivo-ed (including 2 Lifetime movies..I'm addicted to Lifetime movies--that goes all the way back to college, haha!). 

On Saturday, I went outlet shopping with my sister and found some really cute clothes with great discounts!! The whole time we were at the outlets, both of us could NOT figure out why there were SO many people there...we kept asking ourselves "Um, did Black Friday come a little early?". It wasn't until way later that my sister texted me something about a "Veteran's Day Sale" at the outlets. Duh! It's probably one of the biggest shopping weekends, at least of the early fall--no wonder it was so crowded haha!

Sunday was another relaxing and low-key day. I did boring things like laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning my room, and being lazy. I watched some football but I just can't get excited about games when the Redskins aren't playing and since was the bye week, I didn't have my usual Sunday afternoon entertainment...(well, that's one word for how this season has gone so far, hahaha...) 

Definitely not the most exciting weekend ever but it was such a relief to NOT spend hours and hours of my weekend working on grades, conference forms, or anything-else work related! A relaxing and rejuvenating weekend was exactly what I needed! 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Resolutions in Motion Round 1

I'm joining in on this new link-up called Resolutions in Motion. I love this idea because it is so helpful for me to be encouraged by others to set and follow through with goals! 

This link-up is hosted by the lovely ladies at: 





My goal for the next 6 weeks is to walk or run for 30 minutes a day five times a week. Last year, I started running on a regular basis, ran two 5Ks and was in a great routine--running about 3 miles 4 times a week! But then my ridiculous foot injury occurred and although it's doing much better, it's been an on-going and annoying process. I still get injections to treat nerve damage in my foot about every 4-6 weeks but overall my foot has been feeling much better and the doctors haven't set any exercise limits on me, although I do want to start off slowly, which is why I made my goal to walk or run!

I'm going to be keeping track of my progress by marking off days, distances, and times of my walking/running  in my planner and am going to participate in the Resolution in Motion updates throughout this time period. I'm excited to see how this all goes and to see what others have set up as their goal!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy


Very thankful that here in my part of Virginia we escape the major wrath of Hurricane Sandy--our lights flickered a few times but luckily, we didn't lose power. We did have some heavy rains. some fallen trees and some really strong winds, but nothing like they experienced up in New York and New Jersey. The pictures and footage I've seen are just awful--those people are definitely in my prayers! :(


Today is our second day of a "hurricane day" off from school and I've actually been shockingly productive with getting work done. We are very close to the end of the 1st grading period, so it's more or less our crunch time--yikes! My stack of grading has dwindled down to almost nothing (should be all done by the end of the day) and I will actually have time to input grades into my computer. Not sure how all of this would have gotten done without having those two days off, but I'm just so glad we didn't have major damage in our area and am definitely thinking about those who were not quite as fortunate. :(


Also, should anyone need any information about ANYTHING related to Hurricane Sandy, just ask me and I'll refer you to my dad, who has watch news coverage non-stop for the last couple of days. He seriously could give some of the reporters a run for their money...haha. :)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Sunday Social: Halloween!


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Today, I'm linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social!! :)
 
1. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
Oooh, I would have to say the year I dressed up as Minnie Mouse was one of my favorite! So cute! One of these days, I will stop being lazy and will actually scan some old photos into my computer. But not today. :) Haha...

 
2. If you could go back and dress up as something what would it be?
Rainbow Brite!

I LOVED her and I'm really surprised I never dressed up as her..weird!

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3. Favorite costume as an adult?



Every year, we have a "Fall Dress-Up Day" at school, and we are supposed to dress up as our favorite book characters, so needless to say, my friends Tabitha and Brittany and I dress up as Hogwarts students. And then spend most of the day talking about how we wished we really could go to Hogwarts, haha!




A few years ago, I dressed up as "The Devil Wears Prada" and that was really fun because I wore all of my own clothes,  (not that they were actually Prada clothing, but I didn't care, haha...)! And just ironed on letters to spell "prada". :)
 
4. What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Well, I have pretty bad food allergies, so I don't eat candy, but back in the day, when I could eat normal foods lol, I loved Milky Ways. Actually, anything with caramel, I was obsessed with!
 
5. What is your favorite Halloween memory?
Some of my favorite memories of Halloween are going trick-or-treating with neighbors and friends! It sometimes was cold enough we'd have to wear sweaters under our costumes (and believe me, we gave my poor mom some flak about that, haha) but we always had SO much fun! :) 

6. What's your favorite scary movie?
Um, so NOT a scary movie fan. I really really don't like scary/gory movies, so the month of October when all of the movies practically are the scariest ones you can imagine, I hate watching previews, sigh...

Back to the movies, I would say that Casper was one of the movies that I considered a little "scary" (I know no one else in the world would say this!) but because it was one of the few ghost movies I could watch, I'm going to include it! I know, I'm kind of a wimp...