SUYL: Singles Day!

Today I'm linking up with Kelly for Show Us Your Life Singles Day!

Okayyyy, here we go: I'll start by saying this is definitely me going out on a limb here--this is not something I've done before or had really thought about doing until the last time Kelly hosted a Singles Day! Ever since then, God has really put it on my heart to give it a try and put myself out there a little! :)

Hi! I'm Erin!

As you can imagine from this being SUYL Singles Day, I am single and hoping to meet someone special sometime soon! I would love to meet someone who shares some of the same interests as me (or wants to introduce me to new ones!) and likes to have fun.  It's important to me to find someone who shares my Christian values and treats people with respect--I don't like rude people....although really, who does? Haha..

But yes, kindness, respect and honesty are all qualities that I look for in a partner. Family is very important to me so it would be great to find someone who shares that value as well.

Now that we've got that covered, I'll start my introduction!

So, I'm Erin and I live in Virginia, in a suburb of Washington D.C.. I was born in Cincinnati, but we moved to the northern Virginia area when I was 7 and except for college, I've lived here ever since.

I went to college at James Madison University, majoring in Theatre and Dance.  During the spring break of my senior year, I went on a volunteer trip to Chicago where we worked with inner-city kids at their schools, and I can pretty much say that trip changed the course of my life. Until then, I had thought about working professionally in the theatre industry, but after my trip, I knew I wanted to be a teacher and I'm SO happy that I am!

Me on  a recent trip to JMU--we have a cool new football stadium!

I got my Master's degree in Elementary Education from George Mason University and was lucky enough to get a job at a FANTASTIC school! I absolutely love the school where I teach and I have such great co-workers! I honestly can't imagine what my life would be without some of them who have become such close friends of mine in the past few years!

I teach in 6th grade -- it is part of elementary school where we live and I think part of middle school just about everywhere else in the country, haha. My 6th graders keep me on my toes and my days are quite busy, but I love seeing their creativity and enthusiasm for learning! :) They make me laugh and I have many crazy stories about some of the adventures I've had during my first 3 and a half years of teaching.

Me in my classroom after surviving the first day of school this year!
Each year it gets a little bit easier, but those first few days are so busy!!!

I'm also lucky enough to have a very supportive and fun family! My mom and sisters have spent countless hours helping me put up bulletin boards, organizing my book library, volunteering at holiday parties, coming to PTA events and participating in fundraisers, not to mention listening to all of my teaching stories! My dad also likes to hear about my silly and funny kids, and even though our jobs could not be more different (he works for a defense contractor), we love sharing our "work experiences"! My family is very important to me and I'm so glad we all live in the area and get to spend time together.

My two sisters and I! I'm in the middle (both in the picture and age-wise!)

Some of my interests:
--Anything sports related! I'm a huge Washington Redskins fans and I love going to their games! I follow the Washington teams in every sport, but since we sadly almost never make it to any sort of playoffs, I also root for other teams from random parts of the country... :)

Me outside of the Redskins locker room! They had a Fan Appreciation Day and we were allowed inside the stadium!

- I like doing yoga--it can be intense but very cool.

- I like to run--this is an activity I've gotten into in the last 6 months or so, and I'm running my first 5K in two weeks--I'm so excited!

- I love watching movies, mostly comedies and uplifting ones. Scary movies--not so much, even the previews scare me sometimes haha....

- I love going to concerts, plays and musicals. Living close to Washington D.C. has given me so many opportunities to go to fun events and cool museums! I especially love art museums--and love that the Smithsonian museums are free--yay!

- I also love to read--probably not a big surprise since I'm a teacher, but I mean it when I say I LOVE to read. I am usually reading about 3 or 4 books at a time, which some people think is weird, but I honestly used to think that everyone did that -- apparently that is not true! Haha...

- I love to spend time with my friends!

Friends (and fellow teachers) and I went to NYC with this year!
And of course we had to get matching shirts to wear at school when we got back! :)

Reunion with college friends!

I am so glad we've all stayed friends after college!

So lucky to have great friends!

And to have friends who LOVE to participate in school spirit days,
like our Fall Dress Up Day! The kids love it, haha! :)

- I like to travel and have gone on some really fun trips in recent years: A two week trip to England and Scotland, a cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, a trip out west to Colorado and a bunch of trips to New York City, which is one of my favorite places to go.

Me in front of the Globe Theatre in London--- SO cool!

On our cruise ship!
Yes, I did fit inside the closet--I'm on the shorter side! Haha!

In Jamaica--- I LOVED that country!
Don't mind the man behind me, he was trying to sell something--I can't remember what...

Visiting my sister in Denver (where she lived for a year)--at a Rockies game!

My friend Tabitha and I!
That's our cruise ship behind us--such a fun vacation!

 With my friends Brittany and Tabitha in New York City last year! :)

Well, if you are still reading after ALL of this, thank you! I know I can be a little chatty, but Kelly did mention to "say a lot!" in her post about this link-up, haha!

I would love to hear feedback if you know someone who you think might be a good match for me! I have no idea if anything will come out of this or not, but I'm putting all of my trust in God's perfect timing for this link-up and know that if it is His will, something will come out of this. And if not--that is okay! :)


Thanks again for visiting my blog and reading all about me! :)