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Monday, January 24, 2011

Real Life and Movies

The past few weeks have been nice and relaxing- whale watching, family visits, bowling with friends, and getting used to a new crazy schedule. I just keep telling myself 15 weeks!


Over Dad's birthday weekend Aunt Jill and Grandma came to visit! 



We all just hung out, had Mexican and even went to a dog show! We saw all sorts of dogs being shown and in obedience- and even a golden puppy- there is nothing cuter than that!

Dan and I also went whale watching- well technically, since we didn't see any whales, it was more of water watching, but it was so nice to be on the ocean. However, it was COLD. I had on a whole lot of layers!




Mini-Movie Reviews
1. Country Strong- I loved this movie. It was not what I expected at all, the music was great, and I fell in love with Beau. I had low expectations and they were definitely exceeded! Danny and I went out and bought the soundtrack right after!

2. No Strings Attached- On the other hand, this was exactly what I expected. Cheesy (one of the worst lines Ive ever heard) the plot line was predictable. However, it was pretty funny and Natalie Portman is beautiful. 

The next few weeks will be full of homework and classes, high school and work. February 22nd starts student teaching and then 10 weeks later I graduate! Yay!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

2010....

I have officially been a college graduate for a year. That is crazy. My first year in the "real world" wasn't quite a 9-5 job, but at least it was not reminiscent of MTV's real world..

The first half of 2010 was spent living at home, substitute teaching, hanging out with Danny, and taking as many trips back to Blacksburg as possible. It was wonderful to live near Dan (50 miles instead of 200! However with traffic it can take as long...), and substituting showed me that I really like to be in a classroom- and that I really would like one of my own! I couldnt wait - and still can't- to have my own students and teach my own lessons. 

The 2nd half of 2010 was spent at William & Mary, starting my one year Master's program. W&M is not where I thought I would go to graduate school- first I thought VT, then maybe UVA, but this program started earlier, ended earlier, and just seemed to work out. I have three wonderful roommates, a job that is very flexible, and great classmates. I believe it worked out just fine. 

The last week of 2010 was filled with lots of friends- the perfect end to a pretty good year. The Monday after Christmas I headed to Winchester to see all of my high school friends. It really is amazing that after 4 years, and all different schools that we still all get together and have a lot of fun. A lot of these girls I went to middle school and elementary school with as well- it is special to have so many memories together! Being able to talk about that one day in first grades with friends you still have is pretty unusual! We had a lot of fun catching up, playing scategories, and just hanging out!

Senior Year, Christmas 2005
Christmas 2010

The only 2 that were missing from our original picture were Sarah (she has a real job) and Kate (about to get out of the Army!).



















On New Year's Eve, I headed to Richmond to celebrate with Cary and her family. We had dinner at The Tobacco Company downtown (it was delicious!) and then went out to visit Jessi in the restaurant she works in. We rang in the New Year in our pjs and promptly went to sleep! 
2010 was a year of transition but it was filled with my wonderful family and friends. I am excited for what 2011 will bring!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Christmas Traditions

I love Christmas traditions- specific foods or events, people or places, traditions make the holidays that much more special. Christmas Eve might be my favorite part of the holidays. Everyone (at least at our house) has finished shopping, the cookies are in the oven, and the anticipation is great! Even with no little kids to get REALLY excited, we do a pretty good job.
I love when the tree is all decorated with ornaments and presents! And a cute dog of course!
Also, on Christmas Eve we always go see a movie. This year: Harry Potter 7: Part 1. (Very good- now I am very excited for the 2nd part!) And of course we read The Night Before Christmas. Our reading is from a book that has been in our family since 1938- its old and wrinkly and beautiful. Each year we sign it and say who it was read to, where we are, etc. It is really interesting to see my grandmother's handwriting and where they were so many Christmases before. 
Then it is time to try to sleep! It is still hard to do - even at 23 : )

Christmas Day is of course fun as well. We always open our "Santa" presents and stockings first. Then we have breakfast before opening the rest of the presents. Breakfast this year was country ham biscuits and home made hash browns- yum. After eating, we sit down to open presents (this year it took over 2 hours!). In our house, there is no ripping through presents. We open one at a time. It is time consuming, but it is fun to see what everyone got, and see their reactions to the presents that you bought. 

It was a wonderful Christmas filled with family, food, cookies, presents, and fun. It was relaxing yet exciting, restful yet fun. Our traditions make it so special- does anyone have any unique traditions? 
Next up: The rest of break.