Ireland 2008 Trip in a Nutshell

I don't think I have ever written about our Ireland adventure from 2008 and I think now would be a fabulous time to do so!

Chris and I went to Ireland and some parts of England and Wales in 2008 for almost 8 weeks, just for fun. We were craving adventure and Chris was in the process of selling his company so we could afford it and had the time. On our way home from being with his family for Easter, we thought of where we might want to go and by the time we got home, we purchased two one ways tickets to Dublin, Ireland (crazy, right! Who would resist IRELAND!). We then informed our family and friends we would be gone for the summer, not knowing exactly when we would return. In a short month and a half, we were off!

First, we went the complete opposite direction to visit Chris's grandparents in Arizona. We had not seen them in a long time and it just seemed right to do so. 

We left the hot Arizona dessert and stopped for a few short hours in Chicago for a layover. I remember saying at one point "I can't believe we are doing this!" and thinking I have only been to London and that was just to meet up with Chris for a weekend.

We have arrived in Dublin! 

  

After realizing both of our luggage had been lost somewhere between Arizona and Chicago, we headed to the car rental center and after what seemed like an eternity (the flight was a restless overnight flight), we got in the car (with no luggage) and started our brave adventure of navigating through Dublin to find our B&B - side note, I am SOOOO thankful for Garmin because we might not have survived (marriage and all) finding the B&B on our own! Where we stayed was really cute and made our trip feel like it was going to be a good one and not the chaos that we were only having up to that point. 

 B&B in Dublin

We had to visit the Guinness factory, of course!  

While in Dublin we: Purchased some new underwear (until we got out luggage), saw the Hight Kings in concerts, went to the Guinness factory and just walked around exploring - we were only passing through. 

Next stop Connemara! 

My brother-in-law's uncle owns a cottage on the west coast of Ireland about 45 minutes north of Galway. We rented the cottage for 2 weeks not really knowing anything about the area. It was a quaint cottage and it was really beautiful. There was lots of hiking to do but that was pretty much it. We did go to this cafe several times where the chef was trained in Paris and the food was amazing! We also take a fairy to Inishbofin Island and that was a lot of fun riding bikes!

From Connemara down to Galway, where we stayed a night in a room over a taco joint and one night in a hostel to a couple days in Ennis, a week in Kenmare, a night in Cork, went to the Waterford Crystal factory on our way to Kildare, stayed the night in Kildare (for our 5 year anniversary), then back to Dublin to take an overnight fairy to Liverpool. 

Inishbofin Island

The rest of our time in Ireland (or a small part of it)

Liverpool!

I just have to say, this city is a lot more interesting than people had told me! It has become a very artsy place and there are actually some beautiful places to see and go in this industrial city where they used to import/export (or maybe they still do) banana's and sheep. We pretty much just passed through, staying one night on our way to Wales and one night on our way back to Dublin.

                                                                     Lamb-banana

So this was our Ireland adventure in a nutshell...We also went to Wales, Bath, London and Oxford for a bit. That is another story all in itself. 

-H

Drop Your Junk and go to the Gym!

I have recently joined a gym - this was mainly my sisters doing and me giving into pressure. It is a health center for one of our local hospitals that does a lot of physical therapy. Generally, I am not a huge fan of gyms, but this one has actually made me happy to join. Not only are my sister and I some of the youngest people there (most people I see are above the age of 55) but there is this lady who is always there cleaning - I have notice lately she has been wearing the same sweater and that concerns me... Anyways, when you join, you get 2 free sessions with an instructor to figure out how physically fit you are and then what machines/weights you need to use to get the results you want. I have been going to the gym now for 3 months and I am just now getting to it. I need ALL the help I can get with my stomach and love handles!

Good news, I can do 25 push ups no problem :)

Running has been my main thing,well, only since last year. It was so much fun at first but four 5k's later, I have actually started to enjoy it and hope to sign up for a 9k this year. 

I just realized I am writing about the gym and being physically fit while drinking a soda (see, I can't stay away from them even when I write about it!). This is my down fall. Bad food. I do love healthy food and I don't have a problem eating it! I just have a problem with loving bad food too!!! If only I could  do a better job convincing myself that it is not good for me...

This is sort of my conversation with myself when I eat bad food in picture form:

While eating this...

I am going to be able to look good in something like this come summer time?

j.crew

Or will I have to stick with something like this? (yes, this model is pregnant)

Maybe if I do several push ups and crunches tonight I could look like this by the end of the week:

NOT POSSIBLE!

Two things I tell myself after this conversation:

Stop drowning myself in sugar!!!

Go eat a carrot!

Okay, well I don't envision myself as Miley Cyrus eating a carrot...

Remember, eating a lot of low-fat pies is a good way to get high-fat thighs.

-H

Can't Resist This Spring Weather!

So here are some things I can't resist in the spring time!

Strawberry cake (or strawberry shortcake)

Pioneer Woman

Fun Nail Polish!

DRESSES!!!

jcrew 

 Cute Shoes

SHOPBOP

Running :) 

These are just a few things :) I think spring is slowly becoming my favorite time of the year. By the time April comes, I am tired of heavy coats, sweaty feet, dry skin, frizzy hair, cold afternoons. Bring on the 70's!

-H

How a Bunny Can Actually Lay an Egg...Not Really.

 

via

I have tried a few times in the past month to convince Ethan the Easter Bunny is not real and there is no way it will ever lay an egg or even have anything to do with a chicken egg. I have even showed him pictures of baby bunnies and it just do any good. He ends up telling me "that's not true". The same thing goes for Santa Clause. Sometime I laugh at myself for even trying and other times I have to resist the annoyance of having to answer questions about these two characters when I already told him they weren't real. I definitely encourage imagination and if he wants to imagine them as real I am OKAY with it so I guess I shouldn't complain that he has imagined them to the point of belief (with the help of America's over zealousness of these holiday's). It just so happens that every time I try to convince him of the opposite, he clings tighter to what he thinks. This may or may not be a good thing for his future...

I am not sure Ethan would still feel the same way about the Easter Bunny if I showed him this...

Speaking of Easter, my family is having our small get together this Saturday. I get so excited about the food involved! Ham, deviled eggs (interesting that we would make such a thing on this occasion), potato salad, sweet potato biscuits, 3 bean salad, 3 layer coconut cake - it is all so very yummy! My brother-in-law had the idea of going "traditional" with Greek food but no one bought into it. For some unknown reason I just can't think about eating anything other than the normal Easter meal I have eaten all my life. 

I can't leave out why I celebrate Easter. Christ is my salvation. I can live a joy filled life because of His sufferings. I can sacrifice giving up things that are not good for me because He paid the ultimate sacrifice. I can call him Savior and not reject who He is because Jesus never rejected me. I can overcome temptation because Christ overcame his greatest temptation (Satan) and made it possible for me to as well. I can love because Christ  gave me the Holy Spirit. I can be thankful because God loved me so much that He would send his only son to die so that I could have life in Him and spend eternity with Him rather than suffer and be enslaved to sin . I hope Ethan will believe these truths one day! 

Decorating eggs with his cousins in Michigan last week.

- H

The Drink From Hell

Soda is either something people love to drink or don't really care for. I am one of those who LOVE it. There are times that I can resist and don't drink it. The past couple of days I have been a bit sleep deprived so I have been thriving on it - resulting in lots of stomach aches and I am sure 3 pounds gained...

via

I wish seeing the chart at the Dentist office, reading articles about it and seeing short movies on how it eats away rust would keep me from enjoying it but nope, it doesn't do a thing to my cravings. Something needs to do the job!

Now water is a love hate relationship (with or without flavors) and diet soda is a non-thing for me. I will have it occasionally but for some reason I have been convinced that it is actually bad for me (like it is much worse than regular soda).

For the rest of the week (since writing this) I will most likely lay off soda due to me feeling guilty. Will the guilt hold? Probably not. Why in hell was this stuff made in the first place?!?

-H

Resources Over Money

Finding resources other than money to spruce up my house for spring is not my thing. I have been trying to lessen my spending on house decor. I don't think I spend an overly excessive amount on my home but I like it to be comfortable. 

This spring I am going to resist spending money on "springy" things and try and create from what I already have. I am going to have to rely on more natural outdoor things because I don't have much in my attic to pull apart and recreate but I think this will be a good challenge for me.

I found some flowers in my closet and replaced all the fall leaves with these to create something fresh. This is all I have so far...haha!

My next this to do on my list is find a branch to spray paint to put on my table kind of like this one but without birds.

Does Eating Just the Dough Count?

Today is a very dreary, rainy day. I am not one to complain about days like this :)

Ethan came home from school in a "let's bake cookies" kind of mood. I promised him we would after his rest time (hoping he would forget). Rest time being over, of course he walks out of his room ready to start baking!

One always needs to put on their apron before starting!

He is such a good helper! 

I have told myself we will be giving some to our neighbors, putting some into the freezer and Ethan can have two. I have resisted so far in eating an actual cookie but I do have to confess, I took a couple bites of dough...it can't hurt...right?

-H

Every Day is a New Day

image via

Sleep feels so good. In the morning when the sheets are warm, my toes aren't cold and I am finishing up some strange dream, I am not thinking "Right now would be a good time for a 46 pound person to jump on me". Yet, just about every morning it happens. Mornings are supposed to be a beautiful thing. God has given me 8-9 hours of sleep and I now have a brand new day to start all over again. I honestly never think about what I have going on that day, that I need a shower or to feed my child (who most likely woke up an hour ago). I think: "how in the heck did the morning come so fast and why can't I just stay here all day".

Right now it is 10:51 am and I am just eating breakfast (toast with a fried egg & hot tea). 

Why do I resist the joy of a new day and not long to awake and jump out of bed to conquer my smallish world? I am trying right now to think of the song "Give me Jesus". This is how I want to think - waking up and seeing my need for something/someone greater than myself. Something (Joy) that I cannot accomplish on my own and someone (Jesus) being the only one who can give it to me. I want it. The part where I become completely unselfish with my morning glory is going to be hard to overcome. 

I am thankful for grace and a new day, every day.

Nip it in The Bud

Realizing my weaknesses is well, a weakness of  mine. There is good and bad to that. Being able to see all my strong points help me stay strong in those areas but gives very little room for the areas of weakness to come out of the shadows.

Sitting at the table yesterday eating the last bit of a giant rainbow cake got me thinking about my weakness of indulgence. Eating the last bit of cake is not a big deal. If you add 4 Tootsie Rolls, sweet tea and McDonald's into that, that is probably slightly a bigger deal. Okay, so not every day is like this for me but I do have days like this (just like everyone else I am sure...). 

So, now to the reason of this blog. I am simply going to be writing about my journey of life and kicking things in the butt (or as some like to say "nip it in the bud"). I will definitely be needing God's grace through this!!!

“She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! Alas! She must confess to herself that she was not wise yet.” 
― Jane Austen, Persuasion