Blog Hoppin---Meet the Teacher!

Linking up this week with Blog Hoppin for Teacher Week '13!

Today's theme---Let's Talk about Me--- Meet the Teacher!

This is me--Erin! Also known as Ms. R to some... ;) :) This picture was from the first day of school two years ago, not this past year--I guess I didn't take one this past school year!

I went to James Madison University but didn't decide until my senior year that I wanted to be a teacher (and yes, my parents were quite pleased by this, haha... ;)), so after graduation, I started a program at George Mason University to get my teaching license and Master's degree in Elementary Education. 

I teach at a fabulous school in northern Virginia and I'm so happy I am there--it's a great community with awesome fellow teachers, some of whom have become some of my closest friends! For the past 5 years, I've taught 6th grade (in my county, 6th grade is part of elementary school, which apparently it's not in very many other places around the state and country)! I enjoyed working with older students who can get engaged in bigger projects, experiments, and active learning activities. 

After 5 years in the same grade though, I felt that it was time for a change-- in the fall I will be switching to first grade! I am so beyond excited to begin teaching first grade--I absolutely cannot wait! I did my student teaching in first grade and loved it--like LOVED it, haha... It will be a big change for sure, but I'm so excited for this new adventure and helping build a solid educational foundation with my little ones. 

We have two weeks left of summer before teachers go back for a week of teacher workdays and I am SO excited and ready to begin! (Although right now, I won't object to a few more weeks of relaxing and freedom, haha...) 

And if you follow me on Pinterest, my apologies for the ridiculous amount of first grade things I've been pinning recently--how did teachers get such great ideas before Pinterest existed??!? Haha...

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Pinterest Wednesday!

Back today to share some of my favorite pins recently! Between buying and getting settled into my new condo, this past month has been so super busy-- I haven't had time to write on this little blog!! 

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

Sunday Social!

Hello!! I'm back from a little blogging hiatus and linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social.. :)
The questions for this week are all related to our childhoods!
1. Did you sleepwalk as a child?

Nope! I don't think I ever had a sleep walking experience. I think I occasionally talked in my sleep and according to some people (aka sisters, haha), I also sometimes snore (lies!) but no sleepwalking as far as I know...

2. Did you ever try to run away or sneak out of your house?

Hahaha hmm,  there was one time that I was really mad about something (probably lost Saved by the Bell priveleges for the day or something haha) and I was up in my room thinking "I'm so packing up my stuff and leaving!" but then remembered that my mom was making spaghetti for dinner that night and decided to stay...hah!

3. Did you have any imaginary friends?

Noo, which is kind of surprising since I like to talk a lot but I did spend plenty of time playing with about a million Barbies and other dolls... :)

4. Did you ever go toilet papering?

Nope, never! Hah, I was apparently quite boring.... :)

5. Did you ever sneak tv shows you weren't allowed to watch?

Hmmm, I once remember watching an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 (the old version!), which I definitely was NOT allowed to watch at that age, but that's all I can think of...

 

Remembering..

Last Monday, my amazing grandfather passed away. I had just seen him the week before for Easter and it was a huge shock to get the news. This past week has been hard for all of us, but I'm glad we had a chance for the extended family to gather in PA this weekend to remember him. I miss him so much already!

This is the eulogy that my uncle read at the funeral: 


Today our family gathered in PA to say good-bye to our beloved Dad who died this past Monday morning. We celebrate his life and will miss him very,very much. My youngest brother Matt spoke these words about my Dad and what a wonderful man he was today at his funeral Mass:

I’d like to share a few thoughts about our Dad. There are so many images and memories that come to mind as we look back over the years

First, Dad was a man of deep faith and integrity. He lived his faith daily. He took what Jesus taught us, and weaved it into the fabric of his life. He delivered food baskets to poor families at Christmas and Thanksgiving. He and my Mom volunteered with homeless kids at Covenant House in New York City. He worked tirelessly for vocations as a member of Serra. And most importantly of all, he modeled for his children the importance of treating others with respect and helping those in need.

Our Dad was also a man of strong vision. He set his goals high and expected his children to do the same. When Dad was a teenager, his mother died, and he then took on the responsibility of caring for his younger brother and sister. Dad proudly served in the Navy during WW II, and was the first in his family to earn a college degree. In every endeavor he undertook, my Dad achieved great success…whether as a father, a corporate vice president, or as a dedicated volunteer, he gave his best in all that he did.

Family was everything to our Dad. My parents met as sophomores at Easton Catholic High School. Their 62 year marriage was one of abiding love for each other and their six children as well. It is no surprise that Dad’s favorite scripture passage is from a Letter of St Paul….”love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

My parents shared a love of adventure. On one of our many family camping trips, my parents and their 6 small children vacationed for a week in a pop up trailer in the Adirondacks... in the pouring rain...and we all thought that was fun! Mom and Dad saw to it that their children traveled by car to lower 48 states, and only once did they accidentally leave one of my brothers behind at a rest stop.

As we kids left the nest, their adventures continued. My parents traveled to over 100 countries, including all 7 continents. They hiked among the penguins in Antarctica. They climbed the Great Wall of China, and rode camels through the pyramids. They cruised on the Nile and the Amazon Rivers, and made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and almost every place in the world where our Blessed Mother has appeared.

In his later years, Dad was his happiest when we all gathered from near and afar for countless spirited family celebrations at their home high atop Skyline Drive.

My parents were proud of their 14 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren, and traveled frequently to attend their baptisms, first communions, confirmations, concerts, dance recitals and weddings.

Yes, family was everything to our Dad. All of us will miss him very much. Yet, we are grateful for all that Dad taught and shared with us. And we find great comfort in knowing that he now is at home in Heaven with our Lord.

Follow me on Bloglovin'

I'm sure by now you all have heard that Google Reader is going away...nooo! Sooo I have decided to get up a Bloglovin' account for my blog so please go follow me!! :)

You can follow me on Bloglovin' by clinking on the link on the left where it says "Follow this blog with BlogLovin'". It's very easy to set up an account if you don't already have one!

Pinteresting Wednesday

Hello lovelies! I'm sharing some of my favorite pins from the week for Michelle from The Vintage Apple's weekly link-up called Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday!

Here are some of my favs from recent times:

1.) Hah, I guess I am not the only one who feels like this sometimes??! Lol

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2.) Umm this is absolutely amazing! What an awesome organizer!! :)

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3.) Love these nails!!

4.) Cute outfit! I love the design on the dress.... :)

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5.) Ahhh hahahahaha! 

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Are you on Pinterest?? Follow me here! 

Pinterest Wednesday!

Today I'm linking up with Michelle from The Vintage Apple for Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday and sharing some of my favorite pins from the week! :)

1.) I love these colors together! Especially for a bathroom--so pretty!

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2.) Ahhh..I love these stripes.....Now that I'm slowly entering the scary world of looking at buying a condo/townhouse, I'm obsessed with home decorating ideas! 

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3.) Ooh---what a fun scarf! I want this... :)

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4.)  Oh my gosh. How cuddly and cute can you get?? I wish I wasn't allergic to cats.. :( 

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5.) Um so true. I swear, my sink eats my bobby pins! Where on earth do they all go??!?

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Sunday Social! :)

Linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social! Yay! This week, we are taking an awkward trip back to middle school and high school--eek! And no pictures will be shown--oh darn, my scanner isn't working and I'm old enough that we didn't have digital cameras "back in the day". Hah! 

1. Biggest Middle school fashion mistake: Super baggy jeans, "bell-bottom" jeans, omg so embarrassing to remember those!

2. Who were your best friends in hs?  Heather, Jennifer, Lauren, Greg, Colleen, Laura, Elizabeth, Jennifer U., and so on. :) 

3. What was a typical weekend like for you in hs? Going to the movies, going to the mall, football and basketball games, game nights, good times! :)

4. Did you have any boyfriends/girlfriends? Uh, no. I had about a million different crushes but nothing even remotely serious, haha. I went to prom with a guy who (I think) had a crush on me, but I was a little fickle about guys. Oh well! 

5. Did you have any secret codes with your friends? We had a secret code name for a girl in our group who was kind of a friend but also kind of annoying. So we could talk about her without anyone knowing. Yeah, I know. Super nice and all. :-/ My friends and I would also make up code names for our "secret" crushes. Which we did a terrible job of keeping secret, hah!! 

Pinterest Wednesday!!

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

1.) Adorable! I love the flower...sooo pretty!

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2.) Oooh, awesome color. And shockingly enough, I don't actually own a color like this (yet!)...

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3.) Um, SO making something like this. Super stylish and organized! Love it...

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4.) Gorgeous! I love the canopy over the bed...so cute!

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5.) Hahahaha! Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks like this... ;) :)

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Oh Downton...

I swear--- I'm still in recovery mode from Sunday's episode of Downton Abbey so today will be a short and sweet post. 

Not even joking, I actually had a difficult time falling asleep Sunday night and I KNOW it was totally connected to that episode. And I thought about what big event had happened throughout the day today--ahhh, it's crazy because I know it's just a TV show, but well...in case anyone hasn't seen it yet, I won't go into details but let's just say it was a pretty emotional episode. :( And without revealing any other facts, I'll just leave you with this sadly true but still hysterical cartoon my adorable younger sister emailed me tonight! :)

Ahhhh hahaha....

Pinterest Wednesday!

Linking up today 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.) This room is SO gorgeous! I especially love the rug! :)

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2.) Such a cute spring outfit! I'm so tired of winter, haha....

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3.) I'm going to make some adorable mugs like these!

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4.) I want this purse! Technically I probably don't need it, but HOW cute is it? I want it soo badly! Lol...

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5.) Oh my gosh. I cannot imagine a better job! Hahaha...

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Bon Jovi!

This past weekend we celebrated my older sister's birthday on Friday, which was really fun! We had a great family dinner on Friday and then on Sunday, my sister and I went to see Bon Jovi in Washington D.C.! My sister's boyfriend got us tickets (yay sister's boyfriend!) since he was going to be out of town and couldn't go--I was more than happy to make the sacrifice and go instead...hah!! 

This is the second time I've seen Bon Jovi and he was awesome!  During this concert, they played more new songs from an album that will be released soon, which was kind of cool but also a little different. I personally like going to concerts where I know the songs REALLY well and can sing along, so although I liked hearing the new songs, I definitely preferred when they played some of their old classics! And closing the show with "Living on a Prayer"? AWESOME! Could not have picked a better finale than that song--I love it! :)

The view from our seats. Our section was, in a word, "cozy"!

I put this photo up on Facebook and one of my uncles commented "You  guys went to the Grammys?" Because that also was on Sunday night...hahaha umm yeah I only wish! Hahaha...

My Inappropriate Life

How's that for a title?? Hahaha....

One of my favorite shows to watch is the absolutely hilarious Chelsea Lately. Chelsea Handler---wow...where to begin? I think she is hysterical! She is ridiculously silly and crazy but her show is awesome! :) And she has written some funny books as well---if you like comedians, definitely check them out!

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One of the best parts of the show is the round-table, where Chelsea and other comedians talk about important life issues aka celebrity gossip. My absolute favorite person to be at the round-table is Heather McDonald--LOVE her!

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I just finished reading Heather's new book called My Inappropriate Life that came out earlier this week and I highly recommend reading it! Heather shares lots of funny stories about the show, being a mom, and other crazy adventures in her life. There were a few points where I almost choked on my pita chips---hilarious! I'm sad that I read it SO quickly because now what do I read? I love memoirs or funny non-fiction books, but I read through them at hyper speed most of the time... :( haha..

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(And needless to say, sadly I was not given a free copy of the book or in any way compensated for this review. I only wish I was cool enough to have those kinds of connections...hahaha!!)

Sunday Social!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!!! :)

I personally am rooting for the Ravens to win the Super Bowl today! My dad was born in Baltimore and although my family is die-hard Redskins fans, we still also root for the Ravens (except when they play the Redskins which luckily doesn't happen often). Also? One of the Ravens' colors is purple, which is awesome. :)

Linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social!

This week's questions:

1. If you were stuck on an island, what are the two material items you would want to have?

Um, I would absolutely have to bring my Nook (and I'm assuming the island would have somewhere to charge it, hahaha) and my Ipod---need reading material and music!

2. What are two TV shows you'd watch over and over?

Oooh, that's tough! I have a lot of favorite TV shows but as far as ones to watch over and over again, I'd say Friends and Boy Meets World. (Lol!!) 

3. If your house was on fire, what two things aside from family, pets, etc. would you grab?

My laptop and purse

4. What are your two most favorite articles of clothing?

My NorthFace fleece and my Uggs! (Boots count as clothing right? :) They are so comfy and keep my feet warm during the cold winter months....and yes, I think the winters in Virginia are wayyyyy too cold, even though I'm sure people in colder locales would disagree, haha.)

5. What two movies that you saw in the past year would you recommend to us?

Les Miserables (SUCH a good movie--I loved it!)....I really can't think of another one! :-/ I don't really make it to the movies that often..

6. What are your two biggest guilty pleasures? 

Mindless reality TV shows and Haagen Dazs ice cream yum! :)

Friday's Fancies: Apres-ski! :)

Linking up with <av> from Long Distance Loving today for Friday's Fancies! 

Today's theme is "Hit the Slopes!" or as I like to call it "Put on a Cute Outfit to Sit by the Fire in the Ski Lodge All Day". Hah. 

I went skiing once a few years ago and it was literally the scariest thing I've ever done (and I was on the bunny slopes--how embarrassing) and I'm 99.9% sure I will never do it again! I had fun but seriously got freaked out by the ski lift and not feeling like I had good control of myself going down the mountain hill....

BUT that being said, I definitely was up for creating a super cozy and fun outfit for the "after skiing" fun! :)

Apres-ski! :) by eraff1483 



I love this pretty sweater! The color is so cute--I love blue with my bright red hair! :)

Vero Moda knit top
$32 - veromoda.com







Can't go wrong with skinny jeans. Love 'em!

Oasis skinny leg jeans
$60 - oasis-stores.com







These boots are adorable---not necessarily my usual style of boots but I think they have a great "ski" look to them....

Timberland fleece booties
zappos.com







I have a weakness for silver hoop earrings and let's be honest, it's not like I'd actually be skiing so I don't have to worry about them getting caught...haha!

Mood
$19 - debenhams.com







Obsessed with scarves. This one looks so soft and comfortable!

PASHMINA ART cashmere scarve
$55 - pret-a-beaute.com

Sunday Social!

Linking up today with Neely and Ashley for  Sunday Social!!

What is your ideal way to relax: 

I love to read--that is usually my go-to way of relaxing. I also find painting my nails to be relaxing, which is why I usually paint my nails at least 2-3 times a week...haha :)

Where is your favorite place to be: 

I absolutely LOVE going to the beach! I love laying out on the sand, listening to music, reading, and just enjoying being near the ocean. I wish I lived at the beach! :( One day...!

Who do you consider your biggest role model: 

I would definitely say my parents are two of my biggest role models. They are really awesome parents and are super supportive of my sisters and I! They really are the best! 

What does your life look like in 3 years? 

I would like to think that I'll be married and settled by then but well, at the rate things are going that remains to be seen... (haha okay Debbie Downer moment OVER). Beyond that, I hope to be a published author (!!) and to own my own home! :)

If you could go back and change one decision what would it be? 

I REALLY try not to look back at things with regret but remain positive and keep moving forward. That being said, I wish I could go back and change my decision to take French instead of Spanish in high school. That way I could know what my darling kiddos are saying when they switch to Spanish...(I'm sure it's TOTALLY nice things..hahaha ;)) Side story: this actually was said in my classroom this year: One student to another: STOP speaking to me in English--I'm so tired of it!" Me: "Umm, noo English is actually encouraged here..." Seriously??!? Haha...

What is your biggest accomplishment in life thus far?

I'm sure I've said this before but I think my biggest accomplishment is earning my Master's degree in Elementary Education! I'm really glad I pushed myself through those last few classes to get that degree, although it was tough doing that during my first year of teaching. 

What about you????

The Messy Project!!!

Whoo hooo!!! The Messy Project Day is HERE!! Yay! I was soooo excited to be a part of the January Messy Project! 

The Messy Project is the brilliant idea of the fabulous Kelly, who picked out a clothing item for each of us girls and then challenged us to make it our own! :) 

The Deal:

1 Item

5 Girls

5 Different Looks

1 Major Blog Post Day

Here is the absolutely adorable shirt: 

I'm really petite and when I saw this shirt, I actually first thought "Oooh, cute dress!" And then I realized that it's actually probably a shirt on most people, haha. But on my short frame it worked perfectly as an adorable shirt-dress that I paired with a little black dress I have. I added some sparkly gold jewelry and a pair of my favorite boots and this is my look! :)

And a few close ups....

I LOVE these boots!! :) They are so comfortable! :)

This was such a FUN project and I'm SO glad I got to be a part of it---thanks Kelly for organizing such an awesome opportunity!! 

You absolutely should check out the other girls' outfits if you haven't seen them yet! :) 

Christina

Hayley

Marisa

and of course Kelly! :)