Recap

One of my Ireland travel mates (Allison) posted a blog about Ireland a few days ago, and it reminded me that I never left a solid description of our travels for my family who I know wanted to hear about them!  Everyone else has pretty much gotten the low-down, but for those that haven't....Allison has inspired me to share.  It may also be because I've been spending most of today daydreaming about far away places.  Its funny, when I'm away, all I want to do is be back.  When I'm back here, all I want to do is be away.  Grass is always greener on the other side they say....except its not really.  I like the grass here a lot....I'll stick with that for the long term. :)

Anyways...I'll go day by day to give you a good idea of what we experienced.  I'm including a few pictures to share for each day!  This may take a few days of blogging....it was a long trip!  :)

Day #1
We were supposed to be catching flights from Spokane to Seattle to Paris to Dublin.....which ended up not happening.  We had a short layover scheduled at Seattle before that Paris flight, and we didn't even make it to Seattle before our flight had left.  There were complications in Spokane with the plane and we were unfortunately forwarded on to Seattle instead of being re-routed from Spokane. We spent about an hour and a half hanging out around the Alaska Airlines customer service waiting to get  something that would send us on our way sooner than 3 days from then.  Let's just say it wasn't our most gracious moment...it was pretty frustrating to feel like your vacation isn't going to happen because of an airline's mistake.  Finally they found a flight for us at 6:00 am to Newark and were shipped to a Comfort Inn somewhere near the Seattle airport.  I, being the only unmarried traveler at this point, got a room to myself.  This would have been more fun if we weren't supposed to be on our way to Paris at this point. 

Bored....not loving Seattle at this point.

Day #2
The flight to Newark wasn't the worst and we got to see the Manhattan skyline as we flew by.

 We had a 7 hour layover, but decided not to risk the drive into the city...that was the last thing that we needed (to miss another plane). Newark has a bad rep, but it wasn't the worst layover I've ever had.  The Japanese earthquake had just happened that morning so we spent a lot of the layover watching that on the news and trying to find sleeping space on the floor.  We left at 10:00 pm and flew overnight to Dublin.  I've never flown over an ocean, so that was an exciting first.  I ended up sitting next to a girl from the East Coast who was flying to Dublin to party for Spring Break.  Next to her was a military guy who was also flying to Dublin to party. He was supposed to go with a friend, but apparently he came down with something right before the trip.  So, this guy decided to travel alone.  It worked out well for him on the plane it seems as he had lots of time to flirt with his seatmates.  It was an overnight flight and between him and the girl next to me, they drank at least 10 beers.  I declined.....

Day #3
Finally in Dublin.  We walked around the airport looking for the travel desk for about 20 minutes and then found our bus shuttle to the Dublin city center.  We thought we had located our hostel on the map and walked at least a mile to this location.  Unfortunately, there are two Great George Streets in Dublin and we had chosen the wrong one.  So, we back tracked that mile and had to walk another 1/2 mile to our hostel.  Lets just say that the map readers almost found themselves at the bottom of the Liffey River after that one....and I was one of them!  Our hostel was Mount Eccles, and seemed to be airy and cute when we first walked in.  Upon further inspection....it was kind of dirty and weird and our dorm room had at least 15 beds in it.

We met up with Mollie and Christie (who had managed to make the flight to Paris that we were supposed to be on) and headed straight for the Guinness Factory.

  Mind you, at this point, we are all delirious with jet lag.  The Guinness Factory was fun....maybe not anything to write home about.  I guess my real beef with the whole experience is that nothing was authentic.  They don't actually show you the process of beer making, they show you a simulated version of the process.  They use a lot of lights and videos to show things, but I wanted to see some real action.  We did get to sample Guinness....which I sipped and then shared with my travel mates.  Ick.  The view at the top of the factory was incredible though....well worth it!  We also went to check out Dublinia (a Viking museum that was cheesy and ridiculous, and one of my favorite spots in Dublin).  Attached to this spot was the Christ Church Cathedral and a tower that you could climb for another beautiful view of the city.  By this time, most everyone was ready for dinner.  We landed at the first pub we could find, and I spent most of the evening nursing an upset stomach. 

My first Irish meal was vegetable soup (classic.....every pub has it as their soup of the day) and Irish soda bread (sick...grosss.....never again).  The whole day ended pretty badly with that upset stomach turning into a full fledged nightmare.  I thought I might die on my first day in Ireland....

Day #4
Our second day in Ireland was dedicated towards making it to Cork, which is in the Southwest corner of Ireland.  This is where Mollie had been living as an au pair, so we were all excited to get a taste of what she had been experiencing.  We had purchased bus tickets that allowed us to travel freely all throughout Ireland through a company called Bus Eirann.  It was a 4 hour bus ride, complete with a stop in at a gas station where we had the chance to fight motion sickness and buy European candy bars!  Cork was bustling and had a much different feel from Dublin.  Dublin was kind of dirty and much too busy, but Cork was much more stylish and had a younger feel to it.  We stayed at Hotel Issacs, which was a hotel that had both hotel rooms and apartments. 

We rented a 3 bedroom apartment for under 100 euros for one night.  Great deal.  We dropped our stuff off at the apartment and did a little souvenir shopping around town.  Every city in Ireland shuts down at about 6:00 pm every day (except for the pubs)...so you had to make sure you got your shopping in before that time.  We spent the evening in the apartment playing games (always interesting with that crew) and eating some yummy homemade shepard's pie that Mollie made.  It was nice to be in an apartment with a clean, fully functioning shower and a clean kitchen.  Hostels leave much to be desired, so this was wonderful!

Day #5.....coming soon!

Ah ha!

I'm feeling super empowered today....which is great after a few weeks of feeling super insecure.  This post college life is an interesting maze, because I'm a totally different person than I was in college.  I went from being a super uncool high school student to being accepted into a huge group of friends and honestly being in the center of everything in college.  Working full time is a whole different ball game, and I feel like I was unprepared for it.  I can't tell you the last time I wasn't exhausted from work on a weekday and felt like hanging out with anyone.  When I do hang out with people on weekdays.....all I'm thinking about is how early I have to get up in the morning and what a long day it will be if I don't get good sleep.  Then Friday nights are useless because I work Saturday mornings and I fall asleep at 10:00 pm anyways.  And then, this may be an adult reality I never understood before, once the weekends come, I'm running 100 miles an hour to catch up on chores, laundry, running errands, etc....  So, the social life that I once found all my confidence in is totally depleted and I'm left coming home every night to this little guy (cute as he may be) and wondering what happened to all the fun. 

In the midst of all of that, God has been working on reminding me of where my value lies and what my idols are that I've been holding onto...like popularity and looks and control and putting all my inherent value into what others think of me.  Funny how easy it can be to make it look like you are totally put together when you aren't at all.  I had a breaking point last week where I realized how miserable I was in this facade. 

I meet with a counselor at work regularly to work through the tough things that we experience every day, and a lot of what we touch on are more personal things.  I was reminded by him today where my insecurities come in and how they are impacting some pretty important aspects of my life.  I can have all the confidence in the world at work and in my job, but if I'm not confident in Christ and in his plan for me and in his plan for this time of self-discovery....then I'm missing a huge chunk of this.  I'm realizing where I need to take some risks and where I need to push past my self imposed limits.  I also need to quit listening to certain voices in my life and quit adding onto wounds that are already there.  I'm not doing myself any favors.

I'm measuring my success in all the wrong ways.  I'm living alone with a cat...with no end to that situation in sight.  So what?  That is what I wanted.  I wanted independence and I wanted to feel like a grown up.  So I got it.  God totally blessed me with a gift of a time to spend time with him and with myself and allowed me the perfect place to do that.  And I'm complaining why?  So I'm single....and have been for a long time.  When did that become a failure.  I'm frustrated that I've allowed myself to feel like a failure because of that.  I could be miserable in a relationship with the first person that came along that showed me any attention and I could be regretting every step of my life since then.  Instead I'm loving what I'm doing professionally, I'm enjoying my friends, I'm involved in an incredible church group, I get to travel whenever I want to, I don't have unnecessary stretch marks....haha.  That isn't a failure.  I refuse to think that way anymore, and for real this time, I refuse to see this time as an interim period before life really begins.  The Christian community has failed its young single women in allowing them to think that life begins when you get married....and until that point, you are in limbo.  There is so much pressure on this period in life, and reaching 25 and still being single is such a downer for those that hit it.  You know what?  No other circle of people anywhere else thinks its the norm to be married this young.  My friends from the East Coast think we are crazy for even considering it.  And even as I watch every other single friend of mine pair off...I refuse to become that bitter person that can't find joy for them.  Good for them!  But good for me too.  I'm doing my thing too, and it holds just as much meaning.

Ahhhh, I should have gone for a run this afternoon...I have way too much energy and excitement about life.  Maybe I'll just clean my entire kitchen.

Also, in another empowering note, I am kind of rocking this little experiment with gluten.  I'm hating it....I'm not going to lie.  However, I'm pretty successful in it, even if its only in the fact that I'm making healthier eating choices and making lunches for work and just staying on top of myself more.  I'm not necessarily feeling better.....but you never know!  My fridge is full of yummy, healthy, home-cooked food.....I think that's a success!  I may not be able to give up sugar for a whole month though....that is harder than expected.  But even if I drastically cut back to dessert one or two times a week, I'll feel good about that.

:)

Admitting Defeat

That's it.  I'm pretty over the whole picture challenge.  I made it only halfway through the 30 days, and I'm so tired of writing about my pictures that I'm officially giving up today.  I never wanted blogging to be a hassle and it has become one.  So, I'm stopping that.  Props to those who can keep it going for that long. 

In other news, I'm starting a new 30 day challenge that I may also admit defeat halfway through....but I'm hoping that isn't the case.  I make really terrible food choices.  Really bad.  I may not drink pop with every meal or eat fried food like its going out of style, but I make up for it with the desserts I eat and the not even remotely healthy choices that I make.  I would never choose whole grain rice over white rice.  Never.  What's the point?  White rice tastes better.  I dislike salads.  Who wants to eat something that tastes like grass?  I do...if its covered in a bunch of garbage that makes it not taste like grass....like dressing (and a lot of it).  And seriously...here is an average day of eating.

Breakfast:
Sugary cereal (I've decided that most non-sugary cereal is gross, and makes me want to top it with sugar)....so, I gave up and just started buying frosted flakes and things that actually tasted good.

Mid-Morning Snack:
We get tons of donuts at work....so I literally eat a donut at least 3-4 days a week...usually as I'm running from place to place at around 9:30 in the morning.  So, I've started the day with pure sugar and fat.

Lunch:
Although our kitchen crew is totally talented and they are generous enough to make enough for the staff, usually by the time I get through the line....all that is left is the main dish and a variety of desserts.  So, I eat a little of whatever the main dish is...and grab dessert.  Awesome.

Mid-Afternoon Snack:
We also have an overabundance of cookies....I usually partake in one or two of those by the afternoon.

Dinner:  I make this myself, so its definitely the healthiest of the meals that I eat, but typically it involves dessert as well.  Cookies?  Cupcakes?  Whatever I have made over the last week.

There you have it....were my metabolism not wildly fast, I would be the biggest person I know.

And sugar doesn't make me feel good.  I get headaches, it kills my immune system, it makes me crash quickly...its gross.  I also have been dabbling with the idea of going gluten free for a time to see if it helps my stomach problems and other health issues.  I had decided against it because of how hard it would be, but with the encouragement of some friends, I have decided to take the plunge.  So, for 30 days, I'm going to be cutting out all sugars that do not include fruit, whatever is in my natural yogurt that I love, and whatever dessert I allow myself to be treated to once every Friday.  I will also be going gluten free for one month, which should be really interesting, because gluten is in everything I love.  But you can do almost anything for 30 days right?  (Well....except for finish a 30 Day picture challenge.......fail).