Happy New Year! I hope everyone is having a fun time celebrating the coming of the year 2012! I can't believe how fast this year went by!

2011 was a great year with many fun highlights:

* Ringing in the New Year with my sister Eileen and my friend Kim! We had a great time dancing at Union Jack's and braving the Metro at 3am on NYE..yikes!

Me & Eileen! :)

I love you Kim, haha!

* Visiting NYC with Caitlyn to see our wonderful Kim!! We had such a fun time with Kim as our tour guide! We also got to hang out with our friend Jenny, another fabulous JMU girl! :)

* Having a super fun Harry Potter baby shower for Brittany and getting to meet adorable Avery soon after! I love that little baby so much! :)

* Going skiing for the first time, with my cousin Matthew's Boy Scout troop. I'm glad that my dad came along with me on the bunny slopes because all of the boys were zooming down the intermediate slopes in no time at all...

Me "zooming" down the slopes..yeah right!

* Seeing Bon Jovi in concert with my mom and sisters! He is a phenomenal performer! We had a great time!

Girls Night Out! :)

* Having a fun Pajama/Reading Day at school!

Yea, they definitely put this photo in the yearbook, hahaha!

* Going to Richmond twice with my friend Tabitha! We went for the CAA basketball tournament so we could both see  our colleges play (VCU and George Mason--JMU was already out of the tournament unfortunately!And then we went a second time to see VCU play in the Final Four! Very exciting!!) We also got to see friends, which is always fun too!

We met up with Caitlyn and Rachel for lunch!

Good times in Richmond! :)

* Going on a totally awesome spring break trip with Tabitha! We went on a cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, which was SO much fun! When we got back to the US, we went to Orlando and went to Disney World and Universal Studios, where we spent about 7 hours hanging out in the Harry Potter Wizarding World--sooo cool!

In Jamaica!

Climbing the Dunn River Falls!

Harry Potter!!!

* Going to Rebecca's (my good friend from college) bridal shower and then wedding! So glad I got to celebrate those happy days with her! :)

Caitlyn, Rebecca, and me!

Such a beautiful wedding!!

* My younger sister graduated with her Master's degree from Marymount University! Yea Molly! We had a fun day celebrating her graduation!

The family (minus Eileen :( who was finishing up her own grad program in Colorado)

* We had a big family reunion with most of the relatives on my dad's side in Pennsylvania to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary! That number is mind-boggling, to say the least... Haha...it was a really fun weekend, although we missed the cousins who couldn't come! :(

My grandparents and some of the grandkids! One of these days, I will crop out that random chair, haha!

* My older sister Eileen graduated with her Master's degree from the University of Denver! Yay Eileen! Sadly, I could not make the trek out to Colorado because of school obligations (grr), but our dog Bella and I were cheering her on in spirit from VA! :)

* I went to the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys concert with my friend Tabitha! Oh my gosh--what a totally awesome, fun concert! We had the BEST time! I could barely talk the next day, haha...

* I went to Ocean City with my family! We had a great time walking on the boardwalk, hanging out on the beach, playing miniature golf, relaxing, and eating lots of seafood! (Well, until one fateful night of eating crab legs sent me to the ER with an allergic reaction...yikes! Just adding to my list of states that I've visited hospitals in...ahhhh...)

I love the beach!

Sisters in front of our favorite palm tree, haha!

* My whole family went to see Wicked at the Kennedy Center---soooo awesome!

* I saw Taylor Swift in concert (for the 2nd time!) with my mom and sisters! We had a great time--she's such a good singer/performer!

We heart Taylor!

* We went to many Redskins games, which is always fun, even though the team did not have a great year! :(

* My family had a fun, relaxing Thanksgiving at home and then went to PA to see relatives for Thanksgiving Round 2!

I made these cute place cards!

Some of the cousins! :)

* I went to NYC again with my friends Tabitha and Kristen! We had a great time shopping, walking around the sights, and seeing Daniel Radcliffe perform in How to Succeed in Business!! Such a fun trip!

Since I couldn't get a photo with the real Daniel, his promo photo was the next best thing!

* My family had a nice, relaxing Christmas at home and I got lots of cute gifts!

My sisters and I,  plus our crazy dog Bella who would NOT sit still for a picture. This was the best we got! Haha..

Overall, 2011 was a great year! I'm excited to see what 2012 has in store! :)

Christmas Quiz!

I found this Christmas quiz on Everything According to Erin , and thought it would be fun to fill it out! :) I love quizzes, haha!

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Eggnog! Sometimes I put a little bit of Bacardi rum in it--yum!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Presents are ALWAYS wrapped! Even if they are big boxes, "Santa" wraps them in something, at least!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like white lights better and that is what we have on our house. Most of the neighborhood has gone Christmas-crazy with tons of colored lights...to each their own..:)

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Hmm, now that I think about--no! Never have!

5. When do you put your decorations up? Haha, depends on what kind of year it is and how busy we are! This year, some of us in my family have been under the weather, so our house is slowly but surely getting decorated!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Oooh..Christmas cookies? Haha! That's totally not a holiday dish, but whateve--it's my favorite!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Well, the Christmas that my Grandpa built me a dollhouse was pretty awesome! :)

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I've always been a night owl, even as a little kid, and one Christmas I was really wound up and not at all tired. I think I was about 8 or 9 years old, maybe? I decided to stay up until midnight to see if I could hear Santa's sleigh bells and reindeer. Well, midnight rolled around and I waited...listened..not a sound! And just like that I decided Santa wasn't real, rolled over, and went to sleep! Haha...

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We never opened gifts on Christmas Eve that I can remember, but a few years ago, we did open some of our gifts on Christmas Eve because we were going to be traveling on Christmas Day. But that's not usually the norm..

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Lots and lots of ornaments! I LOVE putting up our favorite ornaments every year!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Oh snow..I absolutely love it if it is enough to close schools! I practically live for snow days December-February, haha. My teacher friends and I obsessively stalk the news, school websites, email, Facebook, etc. if there is even a hint of snow! But if school is open...ugh..snow is annoying.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes! I took an ice skating class last year and it was really fun! Considering a good number of other adults in the class had literally NEVER been on ice-skates (for real??!?), I was considered one of the better students because I could stay upright. I learn how to glide, stop, fall, turn around, skate backwards (sloooowly!) and a few other little tricks. It was a fun class!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Oh, besides the previously mentioned dollhouse, one of my favorite gifts was a totally awesome Cabbage Patch Doll. She was so cool because you could style her hair! That Christmas, I wanted that doll SO bad and after I opened all of my gifts at my parents house, I was a little sad that I hadn't gotten her. The next day, we went to my grandparents house to celebrate and I was soooo happy to open my gifts and see that Cabbage Patch Doll I wanted so badly! :)

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with my family!

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Cinnamon Rolls--I can almost smell them just thinking about it! I want one really bad now, haha.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas Eve dinner--we order or make Chinese food--yum!

17. What tops your tree? An angel

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Both! I love getting gifts, but I also love picking them out too! And I LOVE wrapping them! After I spent a summer in college working at a toy store that also did gift wrapping, it became a favorite of mine!

19. Candy canes: yuck or yum? I used to LOVE candy canes before I developed different food allergies. Sad! :( 

20. Favorite Christmas show? Favorite Christmas movie is a tie between Love Actually and Home Alone. And National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Love them all!

21. Saddest Christmas song? 

Oh hands down, "When Christmas Comes to Town" from The Polar Express.

I'm wishing on a star
And trying to believe
That even though it's far
He'll find me Christmas Eve

I guess that Santa's busy
Cause he's never come around
I think of him
When Christmas Comes to Town

The best time of the year
When everyone comes home
With all this Christmas cheer
It's hard to be alone

Putting up the Christmas tree
With friends who come around
It's so much fun
When Christmas Comes to Town

Presents for the children
Wrapped in red and green
All the things I've heard about
But never really seen

No one will be sleeping on
The night of Christmas Eve
Hoping Santa's on his way

When Santa's sleigh bells ring
I listen all around
The herald angels sing
I never hear a sound

When all the dreams of children
Once lost will all be found
That's all I want 
When Christmas Comes to Town

That's all I want
When Christmas Comes to Town

I love this movie and watch it at least once a year. I usually show it during my class Winter Holiday Party and this song is usually the part that everyone gets a little sniffly!

22. What’s your favorite Christmas song? "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree", "O Christmas Tree" and about 500 others!

Glitz and Glam Blog Swap!

How the Glitz Stole Christmas swap was put together by two fabulous bloggers Lindsey from The Bargain Blonde and Raven from A Momma's Desires and Pacifiers. You seriously must read their blogs if you aren't already--hilarious!

I was super excited to be partnered with Sabrina from Sabrina Says --I love her blog! :) 

I was SOOOO excited when I opened my package and found tons of adorable gifts!

Cute card!

SUCH a cute glittery tree! I can't wait to find a spot around my house for this fun decoration!

An adorable glittery Christmas ornament! I love the color and how it sparkles!

Another super cute glittery ornament--I LOVE this! 

New nail polishes--- I LOVE red nail polish! Awesome! Can't wait to try these!

This cute umbrella! Perfect!

I love black and white, and I am always in need of an umbrella! I teach at a fantastic school that is a tiny bit overcrowded and thus, our 6th grade classes are in "learning cottages" outside of the main building and we have had SO much rain this year...(apparently Virginia is the new Ireland??) Many school days are spent walking briskly in the refreshing rain showers, while begging my students not to splash each other and to stay out of the muddy, wet grass and on the sidewalks...haha....

I have an umbrella at school, but it's kind of big..this one is the perfect size to fit in a bag or purse or my coat pocket--yay!! 

I love love love these Marilyn Monroe mugs! How cool are they??

And last but not least, this amazing eye makeup set--Ahhh!! I'm so excited to use this! I LOVE eyeshadow! 

Perfection! :)

Thank you Sabrina for my awesome gifts!! :)

A Very Bloggy Christmas!

I heard about A Very Bloggy Christmas gift swap put on by Laura from Between the Lines and Lil' Woman and decided it would be so fun to participate!! A chance to "meet" other bloggers and exchanging fun packages?? Absolutely!!! :) 

I was so happy to be partnered up with Meg from Through the Roses and was SO excited when my package arrived in the mail!

When I opened it, I found this: 

Cute box---check!!

  

And inside was all of this fun stuff:

Adorable bottle of hand and body cream that smells SO good--like flowers and apples!

Cute bottle of body scrub---YES! I love body scrubs and how smooth they make your skin feel! And this also smells fabulous!

And a brand-new Vera Bradley Zip ID holder! I was SOOOOOO excited to get this! 

 

I am ridiculously obsessed with Vera Bradley and use a Zip ID holder every day to hold my badge at school! (Hahaha, badge makes it sound much more important than what it actually is--A Public School County I Won't Name On this Blog ID card that has my name and a picture of me where I have a totally cheesy smile on my face haha (eww)...anyway totally off track!)

So the crazy thing is, I actually was JUST thinking to myself that I wanted to get a new one because my old one is a little ratty, so I was planning on asking for one for Christmas!

But now I have this adorable one--yay!!! I think I will save it for when we go back to school in January after the Winter Holiday Break... I might be in need of something bright and cheery then...hah...

Thank you so much Meg for the fabulous gifts!! :) :) :)

Holiday Blog Challenge Day 2: Favorite Holiday Tradition New or Old

It is Day 2 of Neely and Amber's Holiday Blog Challenge and today's topic is favorite holiday tradition, new or old--fun fun!

We have lots of fun traditions in my family during the Christmas season!

One of our oldest (and possibly oddest) traditions is having a traditional Christmas Eve dinner serving....Chinese food....whaaat? :) 

Haha, it sounds a little weird, but it all started years ago when my sisters and I were much younger. We were leaving the next day for a trip to visit family and my parents didn't want a lot of leftovers, so they decided we'd get Chinese take-out to make things easier as we got ready for our trip.

Well the next year rolled around and my mom asked us what we wanted for Christmas Eve dinner and we said "Chinese food of course! Duh!" and my mom said "Okayyyy, we can do Chinese again.." probably while thinking to herself what strange children she had, haha...

Every year since then, we've had Chinese food at our Christmas Eve dinner. :)

There will soon be Chinese food on these plates...yum! :)

We have other traditions too:

                                                           Decorating our tree

                                                Putting up our favorite ornaments

This is one of my favorite ornaments--I got it when I was a baby! :)

                                              Wearing pajamas all day on Christmas

This stuffed animal kitten was given to me by my mom so I would stop incessantly talking about how I wanted a kitten, even though I'm highly allergic to them..haha...it is possibly one of my favorite gifts ever ;) :)

                       Hanging our stockings with our favorite stocking hangers

                                                         I love Christmas!! :)