Everyone loves a little alliteration. Life got a little tedious in February and therefore not very interesting to blog about. One big February highlight was taking the youth from church up to Belfast for their regional youth activity. It was a LONG and EXHAUSTING day, but so much fun. We really do have the best kids on this island. Later in the week the Scarecrow and I celebrated the 6th anniversary of our first date. We could hardly believe it either! We re-created the date as best we could by going to Eddie Rockets and a movie. This time though he didn't have to drop me off at Kilmurry Village.
Dancing the night away at Charlie Chaplin's 2007
Easter Weekend 2007
Flying off to Madrid with the gang 2007
Goofy in Madrid 2007
We look so different! It's been a really insane 6 years. We did the math and of those 6 years we've spent a total of 1 year in the same country, 6 months of that married. Yep, sure do love this man.
The following weekend (i.e, this past weekend) we had a bit of excitement planned. 6 years ago we went and saw the movie Once. Scarecrow was already a big fan of the lead male character and writer of the music, Glen Hansard. I didn't know anything about him, having never heard of the Frames before, and was willing to go along. It quickly became a favorite movie and "Falling Slowly" a favorite song. As many will remember, it went on to win best original song at the Academy Awards the next year.
Fast forward and it was adapted into a Broadway sensation, wining 8 Tony Awards. I'd heard it was going to be taken to London's West End and was a bit disappointed that it was skipping Ireland. It's a show about Dublin for crying out loud! And then, last minute, they decide to bring it to Dublin's Gaiety Theatre. And you better believe we bought tickets to that! So this past Friday we stayed the night in Scarcrow's friend's flat just outside Dublin city centre. We started off the day with...IKEA! The Swedes sure know how to design, it was a lot of fun. We pretty much planned our perfect home which was fun to do together.
I love these cabinets. They're a beautiful textured wood.
We went back to the flat, got changed, and hopped a bus into the city. Scarecrow had picked a place for lunch and (with some coaxing from me) kept it a secret. We wandered along Grafton street, through the small alleys of Dublin and enjoyed listening to the buskers. I love watching street performers and listening to musicians. It's a big thing in the city centres here, especially on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We finally got to our destination and it was...a burrito shop!
New Favorite
Busking on Grafton Street
Every time someone asks me what I miss about the States the most I almost always say Mexican food. I've really been craving a Chipotle burrito. Well, the Scarecrow is amazing and somehow found the one little restaurant, I bet, in all of Ireland that is as close to Chipotle as you can get. I was dancing I was so giddy! Seriously, best husband ever.
Can you tell I'm excited!
From there we found the theatre and let me tell you, it is one of those classically beautiful spaces. Red velvet seats, beautifully carved walls, a giant chandelier. I love the way this show and the set was done. The set was a classic looking pub and before the show they bring some audience members up where they can order a pint and listen while the cast jams before the show. How cool is that?
I could go on and on about the production itself. Scarecrow and I couldn't stop talking about it, analyzing it, why it was good, why it was beautiful. I'll be perfectly honest, I cried a little during the scene where they're in the music shop and they first play "Falling Slowly". I didn't realize how much I miss theatre, music and art. It was a reminder to me that once I get my thesis done that this needs to continue to be a part of my life. I need it for sanity's sake.
This is a big week for us. Toto leaves Wednesday for a school trip to Paris. She is super excited and is going to have a BALL! Can't wait to hear all about it. And Thursday I head back to the States for a few weeks to defend my thesis. EEK! I'm really nervous about it, not just the school part but to be away from the Scarecrow again. Didn't like it last time, don't imagine I'll like it any better this time. The upside is that he'll be coming over in April for 2 weeks and we'll fly home together.
And I love him so. I wouldn't trade him for gold.
So for those of you who live back in KS, give me a shout and we'll get together. I'm setting office hours for myself to work, 9am-7pm. After 7pm I'm free to play so shoot me a comment or a FB message. Oh man, this is going to be intense. I'll miss you Oz...
Scarecrow and I had another milestone this past week. We FINALLY celebrated his birthday together! Can you believe that! This fact coupled with the fact that he turned 35 (a big deal, I think) meant I wanted to stretch the celebration out a little. We don't have a lot of money, which may be an understatement, but I still wanted this to be a big deal.
We started off by going to the cinema, a treat in itself for us. The Omniplex recently started 5 euro Wednesdays. Given that this is nearly half price they have been doing quite well on Wednesdays. We went and saw Jack Reacher which Scarecrow had been really anxious to see. Lots of action and a happy fella made for a great evening.
A couple of my most favorite things (because he liked them and selfishly because I get to enjoy them too!) were Internet ideas. I gave them to him over the course of the week leading up to his birthday. One was taken from a pin that I recently saw (if you know me you know I'm pretty Pintrest obsessed). Here's the link to the page. It's cute ideas for FHE (family home evening) for newlywed couple's. This is something that members of our church have been counseled to do. Life's busy, we need to designate some family time. Confession; we haven't really "done" FHE since we've gotten married. It's not something either of us were particularly in the habit of doing before we got married. We've wanted to, and have talked about it a lot. We just needed a little push. So this was the push. But we aren't just a newlywed couple, we're a newlywed couple with a 13 year old. So that led to me Google-ing and compiling a list of 30+ COMPLETE FHE ideas. I broke them into 2 categories, one for us to do when we don't have Toto and ones that we can do with her. So click here for the FHE ideas for couples and here for the family FHE ideas. I still need to print them on different colors of paper (one for couple, one for family) and stick them in a can. But now the leg work is done we can get to family time!
Another thing we've been wanting to work on is having a more regular date night. One of the things I learned during the marriage class at church (thank you John and Jean Morales!) was the importance of date night. And not just bumming out in front of a movie every time. When it comes to coming up with ideas we just aren't very creative on the fly and we don't really have enough brain waves to spare too much planning in advance. Enter one of my favorite websites, The Dating Divas. I stole yet another idea from them and expounded/tweaked it to make it work for us. They had posted this link about a wedding gift called Can O' Dates. They even listed a ton of ideas. Unfortunately, do to the fact that we're not in the States, some of the ideas don't work for us and had to be removed/modified. But here is the link for their version along with a cute printable to cover your can. Here is the more Ireland/us friendly version along with directions to go back to the Dating Divas website for more specifics on certain ideas. PS-I'll post what my can ended up looking like. And so I have given my husband the gift of not having to wrack his brain for ideas when it's his turn to come up with FHE/date night activities. How cool is that?
On the Scarecrow's actual birthday he took a half day and what did we do? We ran errands! Yipee! We actually had a lot of places to stop that we can't do on a Saturday so it was perfect to wander the town, pick up his "real" birthday present (a leather case for his clerk stuff) and hold hands. That night Toto and I made him a delicious cake. Well, all I really did was supply the idea and the recipe and let Toto go to town. It came out so well!
I love him more and more every day and every year. He's a great dad, an amazing husband, and I couldn't have gotten better. Lucky, lucky me.
It's a chilly, windy day in Oz and I can't seem to bring myself to do anything. I just raided my Pinterest boards for projects/baking that I can do to amuse myself because I just don't know what to do with myself. Scarecrow is out golfing with his dad, the neighbor, and his buddy. The rest of the family is gone for one reason or another. This means I have a rare time that I have the house to myself. And darn it, I should have decided before what I would do with this rare opportunity. Not only that, but I have our car at my disposal! But I'll tell you what, it's only when you have the means and the space to do something that you can't think of a single thing to do. I might bake some rolls in a few minutes. Or I might crochet a grocery bag. Might walk the dog too. Who knows, really.
Earlier in the week I tagged along with the sister missionaries and their P-day activity (preparation day for those not in the know). One of the gals from church had offered to take them to the Cliffs of Moher. She was going on about this crazy party and I said, "Gee, keep going like that and now I want to know what the party is!". So I managed to invite myself on their excursion. It was really a fun excuse to get out and see the country with some people who haven't seen it all yet. And I really like hanging out with this gal from church, so it was nice to spend time with people I'm not related to (no offense family. I just need to get out more).
I've never seen the cliffs like this...ever. I've barely even seen Ireland like this! Snow! I felt bad for the sister missionaries, they didn't get to see it in its full glory. But they did get to see it in a way that very few people do. It was pretty in a very mysterious sort of way. I also hadn't realized how much I miss the bite of cold air after it's snowed. I'm not a big snow fan myself. That's the one weather phenomenon that I can really take or leave. But it was nice to feel that refreshing cold blast coming off of the Atlantic.
So, my Irish quirk for the day. I think it's happened. It's been subtly working its way in for months and now, I think I'm finally converted. As with everywhere you go, even to different parts of the U.S., there are different words for different things. I was talking to my sister and niece the other day and started to comment on her jumper when I had to correct myself and say sweater. I don't have to translate myself here nearly as much as I used to. It will, however, be interesting to hear how I do going back to the States. Some other examples of words that are different than what I grew up with that are now second nature:
Jumper: Is in fact a sweater, not a little pinafore dress that girls wear. Boot: As in the boot of a car. It's the trunk. Once in awhile Scarecrow slips up and says trunk. He even said dollars instead of euro the other night. We're both clearly very confused still. Bin: garbage can, trash, whatever. Oh, I also put the rubbish in the bin now, not the garbage in the trash. Mobile phone: Yes, they are called mobiles here as opposed to the cell phone of the U.S. That's a dead giveaway that you're American. You also ring someone's mobile instead of calling their cell. Subtle, but trust me, people notice when you say "call my cell" instead of "ring my mobile". A lift: This one is very important. I had this ingrained in me from my first go-round in Oz. You never, ever, want to ask someone for a ride. You want a lift. If you ask for a ride you will be very surprised at the outcome given that it refers to favors of a sexual nature. So please, I will give you a lift anywhere you like. Just don't ask me for a ride.
And now I'm going to go do something. Just not too sure what yet...
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Oz! I have been, as has everyone else, busy. This is despite both major holidays being what I have described to all who've asked as "quiet". But it's been amazing to spend the holidays with the Scarecrow. After nearly 6 years this is the FIRST CHRISTMAS TOGETHER. Seriously, a long time coming people. PS, I got a sewing machine. Happy me!
New Year's Eve was equally quiet. Strangely though, this is actually our 3rd time ringing in the new year together. Funny thing, that. We had Toto and a couple of her friends over and we made tacos. Can I tell you how happy I was to eat a taco? That is the closest thing to Mexican food I've eaten in 5 months. And it was glorious. Despite the fact that our stove top wasn't working we managed to make it work. See, he does love me.
Now, for some non-paid advertising. Don't ask me to pronounce it, but I love the blog La Maison Boheme. She's funny, creative and inspiring. I pretty much want her house. And so, as inspiring is one of the things she's great at, she's inspired me. First off, I bring you my...
2012 Year in Review
Finished my coursework at KU. Though my thesis is still in progress, this made me very, very happy.
2. The obvious. I married my best friend. What a great day that was.
3. Oh, also obvious. I moved to Ireland with said best friend.
4. I learned to drive a stick shift. Go me.
5. I learned to make bread. Normally not a huge accomplishment. But given my reputation for cooking and how outrageously good it is, this makes the list.
I liked La Maison Boheme and the idea of a 2013 to-do list rather than resolutions. I don't keep resolutions. I do, however, like crossing things off lists. I'm generally pretty good at it. And so now we have my...
2013 To-Do List
The obvious, finish my thesis and finish it well.
Focus on doing things that make me happy. Not only that, but not letting my attitude be dictated by anyone/anything else. I want to be happy, I like being happy. And so, why should I let things get to me and make me unhappy? One of those things is studying more the scriptures and talks from General Conference, particularly this one.
Write more letters and be better about communicating with friends and family.
And there you have it. The Scarecrow went back to work this past Wednesday, Toto goes back to school tomorrow. It's life and business as usual now in Oz. And I say bring it on.
Everyone in the United States seem to be talking about the same thing, the devastating tragedy that occurred Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. As 28 people lost their lives, including 20 of Heavenly Father's youngest and sweetest, the news ripped around the world.
I'm not much for listening to the news or radio during the day. My home page for my Linux OS is RTE news but once my Internet is up it typically stays up and I rarely see my homepage. And so it wasn't until later that evening (local time) that I heard what had happened. Here is how it has been covered by RTE News, BBC News and Sky News. Between these sources and the U.S. sources I've been able to keep up on what exactly is going on. And it's heart breaking. On Saturday night I had a chance to sit down and watch some of the news coverage done by NBC News. I sat with my father-in-law and watched clip after clip as the gunman was discussed, the shooting scene was explained and various ecclesiastical leaders spoke. I realize now and would caution others that this is not a great idea. It is soundly depressing to spend that much time neck deep in information on such a tragedy. I wanted to cry. Literally curl up into a ball and cry for every child and educator who lost their life. It's not healthy and it's not helpful to the situation either. I've seen so many posts on Facebook and blogs that I follow going deeper and deeper into the nitty gritty details. We want to honor the victims, we want to search for solutions to prevent this from happening again. We can't do that if we ourselves are sunk deep in the mire. So please, be informed but don't be discouraged.
I'm not one to get on my political soapbox. I think I broke that thing into firewood a long time ago having learned how dangerous it can be. So this is not my "this is how we should fix it" post. This is my "grieving and understanding" post. As I understand it the shooter suffered from mental illness, a sad situation in itself. He had easy access to guns. And so there appear to be two issues on the table to be dealt with, gun laws and the overall attitude towards mental health. The former I believe to be the symptom while the latter is the real disease. Here's hoping that the people we voted into office make the right decisions.
The Scarecrow and I have been getting a lot of comments and questions lately about when we plan to extend our family. I think it's the only question people know to ask newlywed couples. While always well meaning it is also generally very awkward. PS, the answer is none of your business. But a thought briefly swept through my head after reading and listening to the news coverage. Is it safe? Just because we live in Europe right now does not make us immune to
these types of situations. Our kids will probably do some school in
both countries. Should I worry about sending even our little children to school every day? But because of my belief in Jesus Christ, because of my faith that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, I know that no matter what happens it will all be OK.
Would it be nice if this was a weekly blog? Yes, yes it would. Is that going to happen every time? No, it most certainly isn't. So here we go, a bit of a re-cap over the past few weeks and the end of one holiday as we approach another.
We last saw Oz at the build up to Thanksgiving. It was pretty funny to have an American holiday here. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it. I got to experience what it is to spend almost the entire day cooking. I started the day before with broccoli salad, a personal favorite of mine which I think may have stolen the show. I made it the next week for a family function in Dublin and everyone kept saying, "It's so different, but it's so good!" So if people ask you if the food is different in Ireland I think we have confirmed the answer. There were honey glazed carrots, green bean casserole (thanks Mom), stuffing, mashed potatoes, HOMEMADE rolls involving YEAST and a chocolate pie made by Toto and me. PS, we couldn't get the meringue to work so we substituted it with whipped cream. We'll be doing this again. It was a nice night to just sit around, get stuffed and play Bop It. Oh, and look what my crazy father-in-law got for me!
Yes, it is a turkey hat. No, I did not cook the turkey. I've had a bad turkey cooking experience so I left it to my FIL, the expert. He had a friend in the States secretly send him some Thanksgiving decorations, including the hat. It was so sweet. I think the American flags are going to be a new tradition in our house. Besides, what's more American than Thanksgiving?
Limerick has now gone Christmas-crazy. Both the city centre and Crescent shopping center have fully decked their halls. The only two topics that anyone seems to be talking about now are the recent budget (pretty scary) and Christmas. A true conversation now contains both. Scarecrow and I have been getting ready bit by bit. We looked at each other one night and said, "Are we really getting ready for Christmas together? This seems so normal!". This is, in fact, our first Christmas EVER together. Can you believe that? We've known each other nearly 6 years and have never once spent Christmas together. I've always come over here around New Year's so we've actually rung in a couple of new year's together. We put up the Christmas decorations and decorated the tree the other night. It's a real tree that our neighbor grew. He dragged it through the yard Friday morning and said, "Here you go!". That night we decorated the tree and in general just relaxed. Christmas is BY FAR the Scarecrow's favorite holiday. He could have told you in July how many sleeps till Christmas. Even if I'm in a bad mood, feeling sorry for myself or what have you, he is brim full of Christmas cheer and it's infectious.
This week it's finishing up Christmas shopping for our American side and shipping that off, Christmas caroling with the youth on Wednesday and two Christmas parties. Oh yes, tis' the season to be jolly.
This is the obligatory Thanksgiving-in-a-foreign-country post. But you'll find out more on that in a minute. First up, this past weekend. It was a roller coaster for me and, as any good weekend should, taught me a lot about what I want my life to be like here in Oz.
The highlight of the weekend was our regional youth activity. The church in Ireland is not huge. There are 2 stakes, one centered in Dublin and one in Belfast. Then there's our district based out of Limerick. The activity was all day Saturday and involved youth 14-18 years old from all over the island, about 120 all together. It was a hoot seeing them all together. Carpools from the south and west came along with buses full of kids from the north and dropped kids at our church building around 9:30am. It was pretty much all go from there. Morning speakers, games and a service project, lunch, seminary (a kind of Sunday school), a talent show, dinner and lastly, a dance. Scarecrow and I were there consistently from the beginning till the end. I counted and by the end of the day (we left and came back after the dance) I had sat down a grand total of 4 times. But I loved every bit of it. I can't wait till next year when Toto is old enough to go to these kinds of activities. It was great to see how much the kids care about each other, how close they are despite the distance. I loved meeting other leaders from around the country and getting to know them better. Scarecrow and I had a great time and really wished that a lot of people lived a lot closer.
Church on Sunday was great, the little primary kids had a program which is always an uplifting thing. Our lesson in Young Women's was great. But when we got home I just found myself getting overwhelmed and frustrated at little things that normally wouldn't bother me. Scarecrow proved yet again why I love him so much and just let me cry it out. And contrary to every male stereotype, he knew just what to say. Everything always seems brighter and better after a good solid cry.
And wouldn't you know, Monday was even brighter. I got my gang out the door that morning, went upstairs to work for awhile, and was greeted when I came back down by a package! A lot of my amazing friends have been asking me if I need anything for Thanksgiving. I've felt really loved at all of the offers and had said I really don't need anything. I know how much it costs to ship things over here and didn't want to put anyone out. One sweet friend never even asked, just surprised me with a fabulous treat.
Leslie, one of my oldest friends from way back in the day, sent a couple little things to make it feel more like Thanksgiving. And so, why did the turkey cross the ocean? To get to the other side, of course! Scarecrow was pretty amused by that one. So now Oz has perhaps the only set of turkey salt and pepper shakers along with Thanksgiving tea towels and Leslie's favorite Thanksgiving movie, Son-in-Law. She's also a great reader, something we share, and so she sent me a book she thought I would like. My mother-in-law got a good laugh when I pulled these things out. Clearly it's not a holiday that gets much attention outside of North America. Toto has been asking if we get presents for Thanksgiving. I'm learning it's a hard holiday to explain. Last night we went and did the shopping for the trimmings. I'm feeling a little intimidated at what I've gotten myself into cooking wise. I actually like to cook, don't get me wrong. But my reputation precedes me. Not to mention I'm nervous to be introducing so many new things to my Irish family. They've been good sports about the whole thing, not even just Thanksgiving. When I cook it's not in the way they're traditionally used to. No one has ever complained, but I don't want to go pushing people too far out of their dietary comfort zone. So next week you'll see if this holiday got pulled off or not.
Lastly, had a nice night out a few nights ago. I went and caught a movie with a couple of girls. And not just any movie, Breaking Dawn part II. Oh it was good! It was sad, not the movie, but during a part of it I almost cried when I realized that I wasn't seeing it with my MoH, my Meg of Honor. I saw this bumper sticker a few months ago, not too long after I moved here. I'd been meaning to post it but I think it's more appropriate now.
Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm celebrating with the newest extension of my family and I'm very excited to be able to do that. I'm grateful for them and for all their love and patience as I've learned to adjust here. I'm grateful for Toto and how sweet and funny she is, even in her teenager moments. I'll always be thankful for my Scarecrow. Do you know why I call him the Scarecrow? Do you remember at the end of the Wizard of Oz, right before Dorothy leaves Oz and goes back to Kansas? She's saying good bye to everyone and she turns to the Scarecrow and says, "I think I'll miss you most of all". He was her best friend, the one she felt like she couldn't have made it without. This ruby slippered girl feels the same way.
From there we found the theatre and let me tell you, it is one of those classically beautiful spaces. Red velvet seats, beautifully carved walls, a giant chandelier. I love the way this show and the set was done. The set was a classic looking pub and before the show they bring some audience members up where they can order a pint and listen while the cast jams before the show. How cool is that?
