Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day y'all! (I feel like I'm a Southerner at heart, even though I was born and raised in New York.)

I'd also like to wish my brother Mark a Happy Birthday!! There is a 14 year age gap between us but he'll always be my big brother. :) We're both teachers (he taught second grade for 10 or 11 years before moving up to 5th and I'll be teaching Spanish). I almost went to SUNY Cortland (home of the Red Dragons) where he went because it is a good teaching school. Hey, he met his wife there so maybe I would've met my husband...haha! But I know Mark is always there for advice, to bail me out if I were even in trouble and he's a wonderful father to his children!

Mark & I at SUNY Cortland

I have the lovely pleasure of working again tonight. I worked all day yesterday and I'm not sure what it was but some freakshows came in! Seriously. After work tonight, I am off to a Memorial Day BBQ at my friend Dan's house (he's dating my BFF Shannon) and I'm excited! All I have to do tomorrow is study for my quiz and go to my 5pm class. Yay.

Happy Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, y'all! I hope everyone is enjoying it and that you have fabulous weather, wherever you may be!

I babysat my nieces Sara & Emma and nephew Steven on Friday. Both of their parents are teachers and their districts used too many snow days or something so they had to work. My niece Sara (who is in kindergarten) didn't have to go to school so they needed someone to watch them all for the day since their babysitter couldn't. In comes Aunt Kristin. My nephew went to his preschool for 2.5 hours so that was a nice break. While he was there, we took a walk outside and the sun was so hot I definitely think I got some color! Then, we had to pick the lovely Stevie Wonder (as my mother affectionately calls him) up from preschool. I took them to the library to get out some tapes and they're so cute in the library! Our library is WAY bigger than when I was little....within the last few years they moved and it's a lot nicer. Then, it was off to 7-11 to get Slurpees because it was way too hot. I had all three of them in there with me and someone commented how cute Emma was (she is 2) walking with her little slurpee. And then proceeded to ask if all THREE were MINE?! HAHA I had myself a good laugh. I love them, and I love children. But I am in no way ready to have kids.

Friday night I worked and then went off to my friend's party. I got to see Zach & Amanda who I haven't seen since our Disney vacation in January. Also got to see Jess Lynn (I lived with her in Spain), Emily, Eva, Sarah and a bunch of the other regulars I usually see. It was a fun night with some drinking, games, "icing" people. I think I ended up going to bed around 3:30am and could barely sleep because my man-friend (I wont call him boyfriend just yet) John decided to sleep right below my feet and there was SOOO MUCH of the couch left. I was basically in a ball...no fun.

Around 630am, I decided I had enough and would go home to go sleep in my own bed. On my way out of Olivia's neighborhood, I'm coming to a stop at the stop sign to make a left to continue on my way. All of a sudden, this girl makes the WIDEST RIGHT TURN I have ever seen. So freaking wide she came onto the RIGHT side of the road where I was and ALMOST hit me HEAD-ON. Luckily, I have sharp reflexes (despite how tired I was) and swerved left and honked my horn at her. SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE FRIG? She had a look like "Ooops did I do that?" on her face. Get your act together, child. Pay attention while driving!!

Then I had to work and since it is Memorial Day weekend, it felt SO SLOW. OMG I was there for 5 hours and it was torture. And of course I couldn't play on my phone because theres now a new policy if we're seen on our phones, they'll get taken away. I get we should be able to put away our phones while we're at work but it was just torture. Haha. I felt NAKED without my cellphone!

Sleeping last night was a dream. I actually woke up at 830 this morning and felt pretty-refreshed. I cannot wait to sleep in tomorrow and Tuesday. Got to get some summer-work for my summer classes done in there somehow but I just love to sleep.

I am also in the mood to update my music collection. My itunes has all my CDs imported, etc and has 2000+ songs. I get music ADD often and need new songs. Suggestions are welcome! What are some of your favorite jams/favorite summer songs?

better go shower before the double i have to go work today. this'll be fun!

Fun day

Today, Shannon, Olivia and I all hung out. They're two of my best friends I met when we went to college. I'm lucky that Shannon lives about 5 minutes from me in one direction and Olivia 15 (20 with traffic) in the other. We try to make it a point to hang out once a week, whether it has been a movie, drinks at Dave & Buster's, shopping, something. Last week we hit up the mall.

Today, we had lunch at Applebees and had delicious strawberry margaritas. At 12:30pm. Yep. Well hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere! ;) After lunch, we saw Bridesmaids, the movie. Considering Jude Apptow, who did the 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up was the director, I was expecting it to be hilarious. OH MY GOD....It was SOOOOO funny. We kept laughing and made jokes about what we won't do in the future when we get married.

Perfect day to have right before going and sitting in class for three hours. I'm happy I'll be done with my summer classes June 23rd!

I have been majorly attempting to clean my closet and get the sweaters off the hangers/rack. Well, that happened tonight. Then I took a look at all the clothes on my floor, saw it was 11pm and decided I was just going to throw it in my closet, shut the door, and worry about it another day. I would work on it tomorrow. However, I'm helping my brother & sister-in-law out by watching their kids while they go to work (they're both teachers) since their kids have off for memorial day and their districts don't. So I will probably wait til Wednesday night or Thursday. We shall see! It'll get done...eventually. I also have another bag of clothes to donate - YAY!

To join a gym or not?

This is something I have be toying with for oh, the past year? My uncle owns a health club that one of my brothers works at. It's a nice club with indoor (and outdoor) tennis courts, indoor (and outdoor) pool, a roller rink, loads of cardio equipment, etc. Being that I am his niece, I can get a free membership. Downside? It's about 25 minutes away. I used to go to that gym when I was taking a summer course at the college near his gym four years ago because it was closer. Now, I don't feel like driving that far.

I was a member of the gym that is like five minutes from my house. I joined when I came home from undergrad and had been going. That was two years ago. Of course, there would be weeks when I wouldn't go because I was either too busy, too lazy or I felt like I had gone enough for that week. I was going up until February 2010 when I started to get pain in my back. It was soooo bad it hurt at points to even sit in my car and drive or even lean over the bathroom sink to wash my hands! A visit to the orthopedist, Xrays, MRI and medicine later, turned out I had an issue with the lumbar spine or something. I had to do physical therapy from April-July last year. It helped TREMENDOUSLY ! And so did leaving my waitressing job that made me lift heavy stuff all the time (I think they attributed it to a work-related injury). I never rejoined the gym because my semester was really busy with work, school, tutoring. And then since I knew I'd be starting student teaching in January, I didn't join.

In the process of leaving my old job, I ended up losing weight! I think since September, I lost about 25-30 lbs, which is great. My old job used a lot of butter and fried a lot of their food. So when you were working 5 days a week and eating it as your breakfast (it was a breakfast/lunchonette place), it made ya gain weight. But I'd still like to lose 5-10 more lbs and also just keep myself in shape.

So, here I am with the dilemma. To join a gym or not? I have several options: 1) join the gym that is 5 minutes from my house that is relatively small, 2) join the gym that my friend Shannon goes to that is about 10 minutes away and have a workout buddy [even though our schedules are opposite sometimes] or 3) check out the new gym (I think it is LA fitness...I could've sworn it was planet fitness). Once I'm done with my summer classes, I'll have even more time during the day to go, which is when I like to go. I'm just confused what to do! If it is a $100 membership, is it worth it?

What would you all pay for a gym membership?

It's Wednesday Love

Happy Wednesday, y'all! I hope the weather is splendid wherever you are. It's time to link up with Jamie for WILW! :)

#1
The weather!! I am loving how gorgeous it is out! Monday, it was kinda yucky but yesterday and today has been BEAUTIFUL! There is nothing more I love than having my windows rolled down in my car and blasting my music while driving!

#2

The fact that I graduated on Saturday! It was a lot of HARD work but I am loving that I got a 3.67 GPA this semester and I officially have my Master's Degree! I just need to take my Spanish CST and the CST for Special Education and then I'll actually have my certification.

#3
That I'm seeing this movie tomorrow with Shannon & Olivia, two of my besties! I love weddings in general (and pretty much have mine planned out..my poor future husband!) so I cannot wait to see this. Apparently it is the female version of The Hangover (which part 2 comes out tomorrow and I cannot wait to see) so it has to be good! Plus, I think it'll be fun for the three of us to see it because we've all said we're going to have each other in our weddings.

#4
I love that I have more time to read now. I plan on reading all the books by Emily Giffin (I've already read Something Borrowed and Heart of the Mater). Any more suggestions?! I have a Kindle too so I cannot wait to take that to the beach!

#5
I'm loving that I'll be at this place in less than three months....
Disney World with my mom, brother, sister-in-law,my nieces (ages 6 & 2) and nephew (age 4) for their first visit! It'll be a wonderful visit!

Summer project!

Clearly, I am insane. Just clearly. If you asked any of my friends, they would tell you this outright! And they say my insanity/weirdness is what they love about me! Hmmm... :)

Well, now that student teaching is done and over, I am going to do something I have been wanting to do for awhile. Clean my room. And I mean, it really needs to be clean. Two years ago I redid my room and painted it lime green. My brother helped me. He never finished putting up my moldings around my closet (thankfully the doors are on it!) or the radiator. And when the ceiling was being painted (I think it is one of those popcorn ceilings), it bubbled and then I think he peeled it. So there's parts of my ceiling that need to be fixed. I really want my mom to hire someone to finish my room. She keeps saying she will but I would just like it. I also want my shelves back. I wanted to cut the one long shelf I had and stagger them to put up more pictures. I have so many picture frames because I love pictures.

And in the process of student teaching, clothes just began to make their own piles. I still have sweaters hanging in my closet. Hello, it is May 24th!! Summer is almost here and I doubt I will want to wear them in July when it is stifling hot! The beauty of being able to make my own work schedule (saying what days I can and can't work) will help with this. I am going to be overhauling my wardrobe and transitioning the clothes. In this process, I'm probably going to realize that I need more shorts because all my pants keep falling off me! Haha, no one wants to see that. So today when I was at Target, I bought a clear pink storage tote.I'm going to be using it for possibly storing the gazillions of bags I have under my bed. Then I need to figure out where I'm gonna put my DVDs.

This is going to be a length project and highly doubt I would finish it in one day. I would be insane if I did! I think it'll be good and I can go through what stuff doesn't fit me anymore either while cleaning. Can't wait to see the end result!

Extreme Couponing...my addiction!

Have y'all seen the show "Extreme Couponing" on TLC? I swear, it is my addiction. It just bewilders me how these people go about using their coupons. I mean, there is the episode I'm watching right now (a repeat) of a ministry student and his wife who pre-ordered a bunch of items and end up donating the majority of them. I mean, they had STACKS of jeans that they bought for $4.98 in their basement that they used a coupon for, so they got it for FREE...yet they donated it. It seems they donated the majority of their buys, which is great.

But to STOCKPILE things all over the house and spend HOURS in the grocery store, it is just pure madness! I mean, there was one episode with a lady who spent 60 hours a week couponing, including when she went dumpster diving for coupons! That's just almost sad! 60 hours a week could be a full-time job! There were also two twin sisters in Chicago (I think) that bought all the diapers and had a huge wall of them. Neither of them had kids. Don't you think the tape on the diapers won't be very sticky by the time they go to use them?

The show just bewilders me. Don't get me wrong...I love a good bargain! And I have no issue with using coupons (I always love my coupons to Victoria's Secret) to save some money. I do not ever think I would go to that extreme to widdle my grocery bill down from $500 to like 4 cents. Haha. It wouldn't be worth my time. And to be quite honest, I'd probably get bored in the whole process! HAHA.

If you're intrigued by the show (or addicted like me!), episodes are Wednesdays at 9:00EST (repeats) and new episodes at 9:30pmEST on TLC!

Misc Stuff

Last week I made John take me to see "Something Borrowed." It's the movie version of the book written by Emily Giffin. I was reading this book when I was in Georgia and finished it before I came home. I knew I wanted to see the movie. Let's face it..I love chick flicks! I would say most girls do. And John doesn't mind going and seeing chick flicks with me. After all, I have to see weird manly movies with him, so it is only fair!

I have to say that the book was way better than the movie. Yeah, the movie was still good and I'll probably buy it on DVD. But there were obvious plot discrepancies. I am really looking forward to seeing "Bridesmaids" this week with my friends Shannon and Olivia. Apparently, it is the female version of "The Hangover" so I can't wait! And "The Hangover Part 2" comes out this week! Score! I love the summer because I feel like a ton of good movies always come out. The last installment of the Harry Potter series is also due out in July!

I had my first summer class today and it was not so bad. She let us out early and there were only 10 of us (apparently 12 are enrolled). Plus, I rented my textbooks for my two summer classes. What a great option! I think it was over $100 to rent the two buy better than it being almost $200 to buy them...USED! I never liked buying textbooks. They were always such a rip-off! You'd buy it and then they'd give you like 1/10th of what you paid when you tried to sell them back.

I am actually really excited I am not doing anything tomorrow! Well, my summer class is at night..and silly me, I thought it started at four when it starts at five! Whoops! Tomorrow, my project is going to be taking the winter stuff OUT of my closet and organizing into bins/bags/boxes and putting all the summer stuff up. I love to do this. What's not easier to do then put on a movie or a TV show on DVD and clean whilst watching? :) I also need to go to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy a new mattress cover. Mine like ripped piece by piece off so I want a new one. :)

I am thrilled I dont have to get up at 530 anymore! I know I will have to when I teach but for now, it is nice to be able to sleep in! Time to go iron my clothes before work. Apparently there's a fundraiser at my job tonight for a teacher that actually taught in my brother's district. They had one last Wednesday and it was busy so let's see what happens tonight!

Graduation!

Yesterday, I had my graduation for my Master's Program! I'm the second in my family to complete their Master's degree. Oddly enough, the two that have are both teachers (my brother, who teaches 5th grade and myself). Most of my friends say they won't walk at their graduations from grad school. I chose to do mine because I was "robbed" of walking with my friends from undergrad on time. And that hurt.

But the day was great! It was a little chilly at first. Mid-way through the ceremony, the sky opened up and the sun was shining! I was not pleased with the commencement speaker. The undergraduates had Bill Evans, the news reporter! We got some lady, Karen Something (I don't remember her last name) who invented a "Lady in Red Perfume." Her whole speech sounded like a persuasive advertisement to buy her perfume. And midway through her speech, she announces that she has to drink water. All of the kids around me were making fun of it. I honestly got bored I started playing a game on my phone. Haha. After getting "hooded" and walking across the stage, I have to say....it felt like a HUGE weight was lifted off my shoulders. I completed a major accomplishment and felt darn proud of myself!

Here are some pictures from the lovely event:

Pedro & I before the festivities started
{We both went to New Paltz, our undergrad school, together and then met up again at Dowling one day in the bookstore...the campus is TINY. We both did our part-time student teaching together in the same school last fall and basically became really good friends this semester!}

Beth & I
{I met Beth during my first class at Dowling and every semester after that, we had at least one class together! She's a great friend and I love that she also speaks Portuguese}


My brother Eric, Me, My mom and my brother Mark [the other teacher]
{Glad some of my siblings could come see it! Mark is already looking for jobs for me since he knows my mom does not want me to move out of NYS!}

John & I

ALL DONE!!!!
{This is the best picture/most ridiculous picture of me.}

Tomorrow, I start my summer school classes. Let's face it, as a teacher, I'll be in school the rest of my life until I retire, haha. My program certifies me to teach grades 5-12 Spanish. The title of the program was "Adolescence Education with a Middle Childhood Extension." The extension is the grades 5&6 because most programs certify you to teach 7-12. A lot of the classes had some sort of special education title tied in. Because of the program I did, I only need four more classes to take in order to be able to apply to New York State for an extension for my special education certification. So, I figured....why not?! I'm taking two classes this summer session because my school is offering one "Take one class, get one 50% off!" and then two in the fall. Should be fun!

And now I'm going to go back to crying...I mean watching...."Coming Home" on Lifetime. Seriously, every time I watch it, I bawl my eyes out! Thank you to anyone who has ever served or is currently serving for our country. :)

GTKY

This is the first time I'm linking up with the "Getting To Know You" questions by Keely!

1. what's your favorite rainy day activity?
I absolutely love to sleep in late and just watch movies or TV all day. Nothing beats doing that while staying in your pj's!

2. what time do you go to bed?
it honestly varies. Anytime between 11:30-1am. sometimes if im out with friends, not til 3 or 4.

3. how many magazines do you subscribe to?
none, actually. i think i really should just subscribe to cosmopolitan already since i buy it every month from the store.

4. did you sell all your belongings because you thought the world was ending yesterday?

no. actually, i had no idea what all the commotion was about yesterday. i didn't pay attention to it..honestly, the whole thing was silly.

5. what's your beauty obsession?
i don't really have one. maybe just eyeshadows in general.

6. if you could only wear one designer/brand for the rest of your life...what would it be?

if i had all the $$ in the world, juicy couture probably.

7. what's your summer must have?

i must go to the beach! it helps me get a good tan =)

8. do you make weekly dinner menus?

ehhh....no, i cannot cook to save my life! maybe i'll do that years down the road when i have my own family.

Blog Layouts! Need help!

Okay, so who is talented in figuring out how to switch templates/blog designs on blogger? The original design i have had on this blog since I started it back in January is beginning to bore me. I want to liven it up, with something cute or fun for the summer!! So I found a link I had book-marked way back when and tried to change it. Only, now the two are meshed together and it kind of looks funky.

I need some help!! I will be grateful for anyone (folowers or random viewers) who knows what they are doing!

WILW :)

I feel like it has been WEEKS since I have linked up for WILW with Jamie. Life has just been so crazily busy (aka I still need to schedule a doctor's appt that I got a card for in the mail last MONTH) I kinda let blogging go sidetracked. But, here I am!

Link up with Jamie today!

#1

I am LOVING that I graduate on Saturday with my Master's Degree!! I will be 24 years and having completed my Master's in a year and a half will be the biggest accomplishment for me. This semester proved to be the TOUGHEST out of everything so I am super excited! I'll be sure to take pictures (and yeah, might wanna hang up my gown & hood to get the wrinkles out of it).

#2-
I'm LOVING that today my best friend is graduating with HER master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. Major shout out to April! Love you!

#3-
Student teaching. I'm loving that all my observations are over with as of now. My last one was last Thursday. I originally had all four elements for language classes (speaking, reading, writing, listening) in my plan but my co-op teacher and I altered it a bit based on 6th period (I got observed 9th). Overall, my supervisor was pleased to see the change in me (still commenting how a mentor teacher would be a good benefit for me when I get a job...who doesn't want that as a first year teacher?!) and I passed my student teaching. :) It's pass/fail and I'm so glad that chapter is over!

#4-
Another major side note. I also had to write a thesis for my Master's Program. It was a two semester class. My thesis was 31 pages and was on comparing attitudes towards teaching between elementary school teachers and secondary school teachers. My professor also gave me a great grade for that. Two big things off my shoulders!

#5-
It's almost summer time! The weather is kind of being gross this week in NY with rain (and I'm praying it does NOT rain on Saturday morning of my graduation). I cannot WAIT to be going to the beach, hanging with my friends, relaxing (even though I'm taking two special ed classes this summer) and enjoying some of these:

#6-
Concerts!! I will be seeing Britney Spears on August 2nd with my BFF Shannon. And then again, we will be seeing Taylor Swift on November 22nd at MSG in NYC!! We both saw Britney together at MSG two years ago when she had her "Circus" tour. And I saw Taylor last May on her "Fearless" tour. I am so excited for these concerts. Yes, we will be 24 and 23 (almost 24 for Shannon) at the Britney concert in May and we are NOT ashamed!

#7-
My friends. I'm loving all the plans we're coming up with for the summer and I cannot wait to spend time with them!


What are you loving this week?!

If you could only see...

If you could only see the floor of my bedroom right now. It honestly looks like a BOMB went off in here! Oh my word. Currently, there's PILES of clothes sitting on my floor that need to go away. I pulled out all this stuff last week for a clothing review unit for student teaching. Did I put it back? Nope. All the kids' homeworks are spread out on the floor. I have done so much grading tonight. I still have to finish their tests and projects that were due Cinco de Mayo. That is my goal for my "prep" periods tomorrow and Tuesday.

I am DONE student teaching this week. It's kicked my butt the last few weeks and I'll talk more about it soon. As I'm sitting in my room, I just looked at the mess I am surrounded by and had to chuckle. I also took a picture of it which maybe I'll post. :)

Back to grading!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there! Whether you're a mother, grandmother, godmother, aunt, sister, expectant mother, you're a mother figure to someone and they love you dearly for it. :)

I have a wonderful mother who I would not trade for the world. Granted, there are some times when she can be annoying, but isn't that a rite of passage? (At least that is what my mom tells me...I'll get to be annoying whenever I want as a mom when I have kids). And yes, there are times when we will fight over stupid stuff. But, my mom is probably my biggest support system. I will have days where I just cry because NOTHING is going right and she helps remedy that in some way. She knows I am so busy with my last few days of student teaching, the end of the semester, working, that I barely have time to do my laundry. While I was out at work yesterday, she not only did my laundry for me and put it in my room, she also took out my garbage that has been sitting in my room behind my door for like two weeks, no joke.

So to celebrate today, the family went out for brunch. It was an interesting scenario because we had to go early enough so my brother could be at work by 11:45 and so we ate at the Airport Diner. It was pretty good food considering I felt sick to my stomach from going out last night. It was my mom, Mark & my SIL Laurie, their kids Sara, Steven, and Emma, my brother Eric, my brother Brian and myself. My brother Scott did not come. I gave my mom her present when we came home and I got her a spring Vera Bradley purse in the Watercolor pattern. She loved it and thanked me that it was NOT blue (She has 3 other Veras and they are all blue).

Right now, I am taking a quick break from my lesson plans to blog. I'm so busy I cannot WAIT for school to be over. I need to register for my CST [still!] so I can eventually get certified. I need to register for the two summer special ed classes. I need to register for the fall as well because if all goes according to plan, I'll get the special education extension by February. I picked up my cap & gown Thursday with my hood. It is ROYAL blue! The hood is black with the school colors [blue and gold] on it. I graduate on May 21st....exciting and thankful I will be done!

Well, time to go back to lesson plans! Have a happy mother's day, y'all!

Mom & I in my apartment in Spain when she came to visit me back in March/April 2008!

Only Me!

Ask any of my friends and it seems to me I am the one out of all of them that always has the worst luck! HAHA. Sort of comical, yet not.

I am just about two weeks away from graduating. I need to hand in my thesis by May 18th...and I graduate May 21st. I wrote the majority of it last semester....twenty-two pages. It is a two-part class so in the second half this semester, we did the surveys, put the results into a program, analyzed the data, finished our paper. Guess what? All my results...GONE. I luckily have my surveys with the answers printed off and my thesis that I can retype. But this is NOT how I wanted to spend the weekend before my last observation.

My friend Pedro showed me how to do the results again using Excel. We both have MacBook Pros and it was not working on my Macbook Pro at home now. There is a YouTube video that one of my friends/classmates Rebecca told me about and Pedro used. So I'll be doing it again in the library tomorrow night. BLAGH. NOT HAPPY.

Life will be like a bowl full of cherries and I'll be more optimistic come the end of the semester when all that doom looming over my head/shoulders is gone. :) For now, off to get some sleep for student teaching tomorrow!

Crash and Burn

Going to CRASH and BURN because of how tired I am. Literally getting four hours of sleep a night and going from 530am until whenever I'm done with work/school/tutoring followed by more lessons, makes for torture.

I am so done and exhausted I could cry. Four more days this week, five days next week with my last observation (thank God!), and then four days the week after and I will have survived student teaching. I plan on celebrating by getting a gigantic margarita and a MASSIVE nap.

And to top it all off, my best friend was in a car accident tonight. 580235920934 miles away in Georgia. Okay, not really THAT far away but still pretty far I can't go see how she is. :(

Off to bed in a poopy mood but only AFTER I finish my lesson plan. Maybe I'll work through lunch again tomorrow to do my plan for Wednesday so I can go to bed SUPER early tomorrow.