Getting to Know You Sunday!

It's Sunday and I'm finally getting back into our regular routine from coming back from vacation last Monday night. 

1. Did you watch the royal wedding?
Absolutely!  I set my alarm to get up and shower around 5:00 and then was able to watch it from 5:30-7:00.  I missed the ceremony but don't worry, I DVR'd it and watched it Friday night.  I love that they seem so in love.  I loved the glances they gave each other, the whispers... I really hope they stay together!  I do wish he had been able to watch her walk down the aisle, why do the grooms have to have their backs to the bride?

2. Tea and crumpets or coffee and a scone?
Coffee and a crumpet- not a scone- too hard!

3. Who's cuter..prince william or prince harry?
Prince Harry!  I used to think William but now it's definitely Harry. 


4. Can you speak in a english accent?
Nope, in fact, I can't talk with any accents!


5. Do you own a fancy hat?
Nope, I'm not a hat person!

6. Would you rather live in a castle or an english cottage?
An english cottage!  I would definitely like to live in a nice cottage. 



7. How old were you when prince charles and princess diana got married? Were you even born?
4 months old, my mom has always told me that she got up and watched Princess Diana's wedding and now I'm happy to say that I saw her son get married.  The British certainly know how to put on a show!



8. Have you found your prince?
Yep!  And, we got married last July!
 

Getting to know you Sunday

Keely's Getting to know you Sunday is back!

1. If you won the title of miss america, what would your platform be?
    American Heart Association


2. Outdoorsy or indoorsy?
    Indoorsy, I enjoy being outside but I'm not a fan of being out there for a super long period of time. 

3. Pajama's out in public..classy or tres tacky?
    Tacky, although I have been known to go out and run errands in sweatpants or yoga pants... and those are also my pajamas at times...

4. What's your favorite room in your house?
    My family room, it's the room we spend the most time in.  I love having a fire in the fireplace during the winter or curling up on the couch with a book or watching tv!

5. Nook, kindle, or book?
    Kindle!  I thought I would miss holding a book in my hand but I love my Kindle!

6. Would you rather wear the same outfit for a week or not brush your teeth for a week?
     I would definitely rather wear the same outfit for a week- the thought of not brushing my teeth even a day completely grosses me out!

7. What's your favorite blog at the moment?
    The Pioneer Woman- I've been making some of her recipes recently and I'm loving them!

8. Lately i've been daydreaming about.........?
    Our spring break trip to Europe, I can't wait!

All You Need is Love- Day 8

Whether in love or out, on Valentine's Day I {LOVE} to...

• Give my Kindergarten students valentines! 

• Send my grandparents valentine's cards in the mail

• Wear red or pink!
• Remind my friends that I love them!
• Eat too much candy!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

All You Need is Love- Catch Up

I had been doing so well with this blog challenge until this weekend.  This weekend was INSANE for us (more on that in the next few weeks). 

Day 5: What I {LOVE} about my friends...

• They are so much fun
• They are always there for me
• They are caring
• They can always make me laugh

Day 6: What I {LOVE} about blogging

• I have the worst memory ever so I love that we have a scrapbook of memories and thoughts from this point in our lives. 
• I love "meeting" people from all over the country

Day 7: I {LOVE} when I feel beautiful/sexy/pretty! This happens when I...

• Eat healthy and exercise!
• When I dress up!
• After I get my hair cut and/or highlighted! (how come I can never get it to look the same?!)

All You Need Is Love

For the next seven days, I'm going to play along with Neely, Courtney, and Sam for their all you need is {LOVE} challenge.

Day 1: When I need some me time, I {LOVE} to...

Read a book!  I've always been an avid reader and there's nothing I like better than to curl up on my couch and get lost in a great book.  When there's a glass of Pinot Noir next to me, it's even better!

 

I also love to catch up on my DVR. Blake and I have very different TV tastes and it's always good when I can catch up on my own shows by myself so I don't have to hear any of his smart comments about my TV choices!

And, lastly, I love to blog and catch up on reading blogs!

Meet the Teacher

Cara at The First Grade Parade is doing a Getting to Know You Party!

I'm Jenni with an i.  I am not Jenny.  Or Jen.  Or Jenn.  Truth be told, I don't dislike the name Jen but it really started to bother me when people who I didn't know very well just assumed they could call me Jen.  Blake calls me Rita (long story).  I just got married in July to Blake after dating for six years.  We were long distance for the first two and half... long distance romances can work out!

This is my 8th year of teaching.  I taught first grade for 6 years and switched to Kindergarten last year.  I love aspects of both grades and love working with the primary kiddos.  I've been at the same school since I started and I absolutely love it.  We have a great staff and that can make all the difference!

Question and Answer Time...

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?

A: At some point, when we have kids, I would love to be a stay at home mom.  If that didn't work out, I would love to be a florist or a photographer.  I love flowers but I'm not very good at arranging them.  So, that might not be a good back-up career choice.  :)  But, I love photography and would love to be a professional one!  I'm still working on my photography skills!

Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Reading and photography.  I love reading and haven't met a book store I didn't like!

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: A teacher!  I knew in 2nd grade that I wanted to be a first grade teacher!

Q: What are your guilty pleasures?
A: Coke (not diet, regular), Real Housewives (OC, Beverly Hills & NYC), The Bachelor (Blake and I got hooked this season), and swedish fish.

Q: What is your biggest fear?!
A: Fires.  I've also been worried about fires. 
Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?
A: I love traveling... so I'm going to say anywhere!  We're headed to Germany, Switzerland and Austria for Spring Break and I can't wait!

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: Be confident in who you are.

Q: What do you value most in others?
A: Trust and honesty, both very important to me!

Q: If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass down to your kids, what would it be?
A: My joy of learning.  I know that sounds cheesy but I really like to learn.  I tell my students when I'm taking a class for teaching or a photography class... just so they know that you can always learn more!

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?
A: This is hard.  I think my grandmother who died when I was in 7th grade.  She died of a heart attack in her sleep and I would love to get a chance to talk with her again!

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:
I hate talking on the phone to people I don't know- anywhere from ordering food, to talking to car repair people, etc... If I can get out of it, I will!  Also, one more, I hate mushrooms and bananas.  The texture of both of those freak me out!

Day 6: Best Organization Tip

Today is best organization tips... I'll admit I'm super organized at school and I only wish I could be as organized at home as I am at school! 

One of the best things I did was organize my closet by color!  I know that makes me seem like a crazy person but it really helps me get ready in the morning!  I do have all of my clothes divided into spring/summer and fall/winter and then broken down by color.  So much better, trust me.  

(Thank you google images)

 

Resolutions

I'm linking up with Kit and MJ for 11 in 2011!

Of course, the first day is New Year's Resolutions! I wish I could say that I do a good job sticking with resolutions but the truth is, I don't. Not even close. I'm a pretty goal oriented person but I don't have very much luck with New Year's Resolutions.

Regardless, I will make them again this year. :)

1. Live healthy. This includes working out more, drinking more water and making smarter food choices.

2. Take more pictures. I wish I could commit myself to Project 365 but I don't think I have that kind of commitment. But, I would like to take more pictures through the year!

3. Set up a computer network for our house. I really wish we had one so that I could get pictures off my computer when I'm writing a blog post on Blake's computer. This is more likely going to be one of my goals for Blake to do but it's still on my list! :)


4. Finish our basement. I can't wait for our basement to be done! It's been a very long process and we are currently stuck on the electrical work but once we get that taken care of, we hope the rest will go much faster!

Happy New Year!

Day 24: Something you've learned

Some things I've learned...

• Patience.  I've learned this gift in teaching but especially in the past couple of weeks.  It's been a difficult few weeks in my classroom!
• The art of compromising- I've especially learned this with Blake.  It's so important to compromise with someone you love.
• It's okay to say no sometimes.  I'm still working on this.  But, I am getting better!  I don't have to do everything people ask me to. 
• You can't live your life to please others, you have to live to make yourself happy.
• You shouldn't mix alcohols.  You should stick to one type.  Trust me on this.
• A little bit of competition never hurt anyone.  (I'm uber-competitive and realize some people will disagree with me on this!)
• Smiles are contagious
• Not to be too proud to say "I'm sorry"
• I'm addicted to my iphone

I know I have a lot more to learn!

Day 23: Favorite Vacation

Day 23 of the blog challenge is your favorite vacation.

This is a really hard challenge for me because I've been fortunate enough to have been on many vacations.  Growing up, we were by no means rich but we did always go on a vacation.  It was something my parents felt strongly about.  When we were little, we typically went to the beach.  But as we got older, we started going to different places and seeing different parts of the country. 

Some of my favorite vacations...

• San Francisco when I was in middle school
• San Diego in high school
• Going out west (Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Badlands, etc)
• Grand Canyon right after I graduated college
• Nashville
• Chicago
• Maine and Canada (we would drive to Maine and visit our cousins and make many stops along the way)
• London and Paris when I was in high school (my cousin and I visited my uncle who was living in London)
• Italy with my sister after I finished grad school

But, I think my favorite vacation has to be my honeymoon....St. Lucia  I loved being in paradise with my brand new husband, starting our married life together, sitting around by the pool and ocean and doing  nothing!  It was amazing!

Days 21 and 22

I'm playing catch-up today on Katie's challenge. 

Day 21: A picture of yourself

Here are a few pictures from my wedding in July!

Day 22:A city you love

I love living close to Washington, DC.  But, I've been to Chicago twice and I've loved it both times I've been.  I don't think I could live there because it's so cold and windy but I love visiting there! 

I also love San Diego and San Francisco!

Day 20: Nicknames

Day 20 is all about nicknames. 

Yes, Jenni is a nickname for Jennifer.  I've been Jenni since I was born.  I love that I'm Jenni with an "i" instead of Jenny.  As I've gotten older, I've known of more people who go my spelling but when I was growing up, I was the only JennI. 

But some of my other nicknames include:

• Jenn- My family calls me that but I hate when people assume that they know me well enough to call me that. 
• Jennifer- I know it's weird since it's my real name but since no one has called me that in years and Blake calls me Jennifer when he wants my attention, I figure it's sort of a nickname.  My grandma used to call me Jennifer or Jennifer Lynn before she died, she never called me Jenni. 
• Squirt- My dad called me that when I was little and sometimes still does.
• Rita- Blake started calling me Rita Skeeter when we were reading Harry Potter (long story) and Rita sort of just stuck.
• Baby- Blake calls me that the majority of the time!  He never calls me Jenni, it's always Baby, Rita or Jennifer. 

Day 19: Something I miss

Day 19 of the 30 day blog challenge is writing about something you miss. 

I miss...

• My Grandma Nola.  I've lost both of my grandmothers but I lost my Grandma Nola when I was in seventh grade.  It was the first time I experienced a big, sudden loss.  She died of a heart attack in her sleep so I wasn't ever able to say goodbye to her and I'm not sure if I told her that I loved her the last time I saw her.  I learned though to always say that to people, you never know when it will be the last time you see someone.  I would love to see her again and tell her.
• On a brighter note, I miss Christmas as a kid.  I love how kids are during Christmas.  It was always so magical!
• Life without bills and responsibilities and other grown-up things!
• Living in the same city with my brother and sister.  My brother will hopefully be moving back in the next six months but my sister will be in Boston for awhile.  I miss seeing them and wish they were here instead of a plane trip away!

Day 18: Something I regret

Day 18 of Katie's blog challenge is something you regret. 

I don't think I have many regrets but I do have a few that revolve around college...

•  I went to college about an hour away from home.  Looking back, I wish I had gone somewhere farther. 
• Speaking of college, I wish I had gotten more involved in college.  My college was a "commuter college."  It emptied out on the weekends.  There were a lot of people from out of state but they would still go home or visit their friends at different colleges.  I think if I had been more involved I would have had a strong group of friends.  Instead, I had a lot of friends from different groups and didn't have a strong group. 
• I also wonder what it would have been like if I had played soccer in college.  When I was growing up, I played soccer from Kindergarten to 12th grade and loved it.  But, I was ready for a break.  Don't get me wrong, I was no Mia Hamm but I think I would have loved playing at a Division 2 or 3 school.  And, I would have had a built in group of friends.
• I didn't study abroad in college and I wish I had.  The reason I didn't was because I would have had to add an entire semester onto my college career since I was an education major and the credits wouldn't have transferred my junior or senior year when I would have been studying abroad.  However, I do wish I had gotten to know another country and culture for 5 or 6 months!

With all of that said, I had done any of those things, I would not be where I am today.  If I had gone to a different college, I wouldn't have been introduced to Blake.  If I studied abroad, my graduation would have been 6 months later and I would have graduated in December.  I wouldn't have gotten the position at my school and I love teaching at my school!  So, I'm not sure if they are regrets or things I wish I could change but still be where I am today! :)

Days 16 & 17

Day 17 of Katie's challenge is something you are looking foward to...

I am looking foward to:

• Handing out candy for our trick-or-treaters this weekend
• Going to Boston and Maine in November for my cousin's wedding
• CHRISTMAS (I love Christmas!)
• Hopefully going on a trip over spring break- either to Napa Valley or to Germany and Switzerland to visit my brother-in-law and Blake's cousins
• All of my friend's babies who are due in the Spring.  It's crazy, I know 7 people who are pregnant and due in March, April or May!  I can't wait to meet their little ones!
• Having the basement finished
• Having our living room couches delivered
• Hosting a Christmas party for our friends!

Day 16: Your Dream House

I'm a day late on this one!  I don't have a specific dream house but I have some things I would specifically like in my dream house:

• A big kitchen with an island.  Right now, I have a galley kitchen and do not like it.  I want something that is sqaure and open
• A Great Room off the kitchen
• An eat-in kitchen.  We have one now and I love it!
• Walk in closets!
• A finished basement
• Lots of storage
• An office
• 4 bedrooms
• 3 and a half bathrooms
• A nice size laundry room
• A good size, flat backyard with no ivy.  Half of our backyard is ivy and we HATE it!  We had an estimate for how much it would cost to remove it and have sod laid down- it was $8,000.  Needless to say, we're going to have to wait on that or do it ourselves!
• A sunroom- I love those!
• A fireplace or fireplaces.  We have one and I absolutely love it!