On Our Own

So Afton and I just got back from dropping Julie and Dennis off at the airport for their trip to Paris.  I can proudly say that I made it home without any difficulties.  I am now taking advantage of Julie's allowance of no t.v. restrictions and letting Afton watch "Tangled."  We will try to keep it to a minimum but what is a girls' weekend if you don't get to watch t.v.?

Yesterday we took a big step and adventured out of the Adare/Dooradoyle area and drove to the coast to visit a town called Lehinch.  Julie had found there was an aquarium there and thought it would be fun to take Afton.  We got all packed up in our car for the day, said a little prayer, entered the town into the GPS and we were off! All went well until we hit road construction... First off there was a sign that said something to the affect, "Unstable shoulder, use caution."  Yes, we were driving our Beast on a little country road that was unstable.  Great.  But we managed to get out of there alive and continued on our way.  The next inconvenience we came across was a detour.  Now in the US, a detour might add 10 or so minutes to your travel time.  But not here.  No, I think you can safely say you might be adding an hour or so to your time because they force you to go on other country roads that feel like they wind around the whole country!
After about 2 hours, we finally made it to our destination.  It was breathtaking!  And the taste of the salt off of the sea and the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore made me forget where I was.
The aquarium was smallish and was home to many fish that were caught off the coast of Ireland.  It was fun but the fish were nothing out of the ordinary, except for the couple of clown fish they had and a cuttlefish.  The best part of this facility was that it is located right by the ocean.  They have a little boardwalk that has access to the water.  There is also a surfing school there and you can watch everyone surf.  How neat is that?
On our way home started heading our but the road we needed to take happened to be closed and the GPS wouldn't find another route for us.  We ended up asking a road construction worker how to get back and in his thick accent told us where to go.  The way he said it made it seem like it would only take 5 or so minutes to get there.  After traveling through The Burren and almost getting in a head-on collision with another vehicle, we finally got to Corrofin and then on to Ennis.  I can't tell you how much I love main roads and roundies!
The aquarium may have been a dud but it was worth the trip just knowing that we can go places without getting too lost!

The boardwalk.

Look-out point right outside of Lehinch

On the boardwalk.  It is windy!

OOPS! and Fun

Today I thought to myself, why not give my blog a face-lift.  Well, apparently I am not very good at navigating the settings and such because within an hour I had an atrocious blog.  It looked like someone threw up on my screen and added pictures.  Ewe.  This called for emergency blogger reconstruction!  After about three hours I got it looking like this.  It still is hardly cute but I guess now I have a project to work on for the next few days.  I am always in need of projects!

But that wasn't the only fun I had today.  I had the opportunity slash need to drive to church, which is located in a town about ten minutes away called Dooradoyle.  Needless to say, I was secretly terrified.  I can handle driving big vehicles and a manual transmission...but usually that stick is on the right side of the driver, not the left. And usually the driver is on the right side of the road, not the left.  So in my brain I am trying to reverse EVERYTHING that I know and channel it to my driving skills in order to prevent casualties.  And eventually it worked!  I successfully drove to and from church (I even backed into the parking stall in case we needed to make a fast getaway...and because backing out is like something from a horror film) without killing anything, even that little squirrel that was scampering by the lane going to the Villas.  I feel so accomplished! 

Church was also exciting!  We found a row in the chapel towards the back and we started to file in, well Afton was more like prancing in, and the two couples sitting behind us started commenting on how cute she was with her little purse and her beads and with that I noticed they had American accents.  I didn't strike up a conversation or anything with them because sometimes when I hear someone speak I get confused am not sure what their accent is...so who knows if they were American?  I know that makes not sense at all but what can you do?  Anyway, in Relief Society the sister who conducted welcomed the visitors from America so afterwards we started talking to them and found they are our neighbors!  They are staying a few numbers down from us in the Villas.  They are from Vegas and just came to tour.  The women were so nice (unfortunately we weren't able to talk to their husbands) that I feel like I have a connection with them.  And I guess that is how a lot of this trip has been; you meet people and this urge comes over you to learn all you can about that person and share your life story.  

This week was a waste.  I got sick and watched t.v. all day and most of the night.  I was exhausted but couldn't sleep.  And it made me realize there is hardly any consistency in UK's t.v. broadcasting.  They are consistent with "Master Chef Ireland" (that is on every Tues and Thurs at 9:30 pm, its a favorite but kind of late at night) and the BBC "Robin Hood" comes on mid-morning on Saturday (which is also a favorite).  But for the rest you can have shows on at 10:50 or 9:45; where we are used to on the hour and half hour, it is confusing yet kind of amusing.  I was able to watch Smallville at 3:00 am a couple nights ago, it was a good episode.  Oh, they also have a Sunday movie; tonight it looks like its "The Wedding Planner."  But back to the main point, I am now feeling LOADS better.  It was kind of unnerving to be in a situation where if I did need to go see a doctor, I wouldn't know how to go about...going.  Luckily I didn't have to experience that and hopefully I won't ever have to!

It is a universally known that dog fouling is dangerous to children and country.  "What is dog fouling?" you might ask.  Well, this picture does a pretty good job of describing it.

Basically we saw this and started laughing, really for no reason.  But it is things like this that make my time in Ireland wonderful!  I have started catching onto their lingo like "rubbish" for garbage and "motorway" for freeway.  And it doesn't just stop there; I now no longer have to think about going to the left side of the car to sit in the front passenger seat.  Weird.  Everything I have practiced my entire life is now going down the drain in a matter of days.  Although I still haven't mastered looking right, left, right when walking across the street.


We have ventured out a little to a couple of towns that are near but my favorite is Adare, which is where we are living.  Downtown Adare has the hustle and bustle of a big city but is actually a little town full of quaint boutiques and houses.  We live in a gated community on an estate called Adare Manor.  The Manor House is a cross between a castle and a house out of a Jane Austen novel.  There is also a golf course on the property, which makes looking out the window fun.  It amazes me how many people are constantly out golfing, rain or shine.  We have made it a habit to walk to the house almost everyday and the grandeur of it still amazes me.  Yesterday we were walking around the grounds and it started pouring, which wouldn't be a big deal except that it takes about 15 min. to get to our little town-house from the Manor.  Needless to say we looked like drowned rats by the time we got home.  But we luckily had bought some hot chocolate mix the morning before and were able to utilize our electric kettle.  Have you ever used one of those before?  It is amazing!  It takes like, less than a min. to get water to boil.  I am so getting one.

This is at Adare Town Park, right in the middle of down-town Adare.

Adare Manor--Ooh la la

So, here is the scoop.  At this moment I should be sleeping and unconsciously anticipating a long, nerve-racking, crazy, 11 hour-ish flight to Ireland.  Well, hurricane Irene has put a stop to that.  Our flight was cancelled and postponed for about a week.  I wouldn't mind except now I don't know what to do with myself to pass the time between now and then.  I was thinking maybe I could finish all of my half-finished (and may I say now unwanted) projects that have been gathering dust in my closet for the past billion years.  But that would be too productive and frankly I don't feel like doing anything.  It seems like all I have done for past several months is just "go."  And not necessarily in any direction or progressing but continuously and haphazardly moving in one place.  So I have made a plan called, "Find Yourself in Ireland."  It's a catchy title if I do say so myself.
I have thought a lot about where I want to take my life and have decided that I can become the person I want to be by making and working towards some goals.  I tried looking for the book "Where to Take Your Life and How to Get There."  Too bad it doesn't exist.  But given that there isn't such a wise book or a crystal ball that can tell us where our life will take us, I guess it is up to us to drive our lives.  So, here are my goals that I am planning on working on while I am disconnected from the world I know now (a.k.a. living in Ireland.)


1.  Learn to Initiate Conversation
     --Often times I find myself in the self-inflicted awkwardness of not knowing how to act or what to say around a new acquaintance or a complete stranger.  I stand there, trying to look everywhere except at them, trying unsuccessfully to look busy on my phone or watching the crowd, and in the end I realize that what was the opportune moment to meet this person has gone out the window.  It is a tragedy.  Therefore what started out as a slight feeling of discomfort when being in the presence of someone new becomes a colossal sensation that starts with a thumping heart and moves to heat your face and ears to an uncomfortable level (I bet if you put a meat thermometer up to your skin it would be to at least 165 degrees.)  It's not pleasant.  So my theory is that you are better off filling the air with random questions or spilling your whole life story in a minute to this person you don't know.  Recipe for instant friend.
Since this is operation "Give Natalie Social Skills" and I am only learning how to initiate conversation, I think I will start at the pubs, where half the people are drunk off of Guinness and the other from the live music.  Our conversation, that will probably nose-dive, won't be remembered.


2.  Blossom
     --I have a crazy and quirky side to me that not many people are able to discover.  It takes years to knock down the fortress I have built around me.  I wish I could blame these walls on the hurt caused by rancid/toxic friendships; while they have added to the problem I think the main reason is me.  I don't feel comfortable in my own skin and therefore don't let others in to witness what I see as not whole.  My perception is probably skewed and is something I want to change.   I want to feel good in knowing that I am me.  I want to feel like a complete and whole being.  So in this challenge for myself I am going to let my personality become.  I am going to wear blood-red lipstick if I feel like it, or wear skirts for no reason, or dance in the rain, be spontaneous daily, sing at the top of my lungs in the shower, maybe sing at the top of my lungs in the park.  I feel like I need to live a little bit more free in order to find out exactly who I am as a person.  I may lay off on the coloring my hair with washable markers...sometimes the marker doesn't come out.  Just sayin'.  I need more people in my life and want to avoid repelling them by having a light, fun personality.


3.  Honesty
     --Have you ever met someone who is not afraid to say it how it is and not sugar coat?  I know a someone who is like this.  I have watched her and noticed that she always tells her honest opinion, even if said opinion is not totally positive.  Yet she does it in a way that is not offensive and actually often times results in constructive criticism.  This is a skill I woefully lack yet want to acquire.  I am sick of dancing around the issue and want to hit it head on.  I am ready to start this and will begin by saying...I am not really sure.  I can't think of an opinion slash view I would like to share.  But when I do I will let you know.


While I have way more things on my list of "Finding Myself in Ireland," these are in my top 10...even though I only wrote 3.  


I still haven't solved my issue of what to do for the next week but am feeling great about my well-being and who I will become.

Its April and there is slush covering all of Logan, trying to disguise itself as snow.  Rude.  I want the sun to be out, see buds turn into leaves and blossoms and feel a warm breeze.  Or rain.  Just no more snow.  It is like Mother Nature is trying to match my crazy emotions--the highs and lows, the good times and bad times.  I don't know what I want out of life right now.
I have always been a little shy and trying to break out of my shell is a painful process.  Whenever I go to take that step, something pulls me back and I make the excuse of the century--"Umm...my brother needs the keys to the car so I better go..."  If I am going to invent a reason for leaving an friend-making opportunity, I might have said, "sorry but I have to wash my hair."  I guess all I can do is start chiseling the barrier that surrounds me and hides me from the world.
On a different note, I have found that trying to find a 12x18 picture frame in a physical store (without having to give your arm and leg to pay the price for a custom frame) is impossible.  They have 11x14, 12x16, 14x20 etc.. and all sorts of crazy sizes but of course the one I need is non-existent.  What is this world coming to?! Oh ya, online shopping.  They have every color and style you could imagine for 12x18 frames on amazon.com.  Who'da thought?

Scrap the old and bring in the new!

Since I am neither in school or have a job, I have found Facebook has crept into my downtown time. And let's be honest, its happens quite frequently.  I have found that I like to look at profiles of people whom I have never met and am sometimes tempted to add them as a friend.  And I a stalker?  Hardly.  I have found that Facebook is the best way to find obscure music that no radios and most people don't know about.  After listening to my playlist for at least five years, every once in a while adding a couple of songs, it is time to scrap the old and bring in the new!  Now at the moment, my favorite new song (well new to me at least because I don't know when it came out) is called Creatures by Water and Walls.  I would put it into the category of S. Carey and maybe even the Generationals.  In any case, its good!  And for a fact, it is the only new song I have discovered through FB.  But lucky for my, there is still time.  And there's enough where that came from.