the joys of house/baby sitting

James and I are babysitting for the weekend. and house sitting.

His parents went to Madrid for the weekend and so we are staying at their house watching his little sister who is thirteen. She doesn't require much care since she pretty much can do everything on her own, but definitely someone needs to be here with her.

Its no problem staying here, don't mind it one bit (besides the fact that we just got our new cable and i really wanted to use it. haha i kid, i kid. kinda)

except after last night I'm a little grumpy.

You see, Jame's dad turned James' old room into his new office. His dad is a pack rat- saves everything and has kept every book ever. (His Dad is actually a well known poet in Limerick and does tons of events around town and its actually pretty cool) He installed all of these new bookshelves to stick all of these books on and the room is covered wall to wall in books. This is all fine and dandy, and the fact that we are staying in said office is fine as well. We have an air mattress and its no problem for us.

Well last night we go upstairs to go to bed and the air mattress? flat. might as well have been lying on the floor. It just so happens to be the kind of air mattress that has to be blown up in a car. why would someone buy an air mattress that can only be blown up in the car? not sure, but irritated by it. So we took a duvet and laid it on top of the air mattress, some cushion from the wood floor. Fine, thats fine I can deal with that.

So then a few hours later around 5:45 in the morning while we are fast asleep, one of the book shelves that was hanging on the wall CHOCK FULL of books decided to fall off of said wall. It was so loud and so scary I sat right up out of a deep sleep and screamed! This I was not so happy with. We got up and cleaned up the mess (thankfully nothing was truly damaged) and went back to our floor...i mean, bed.

Then- the dogs started barking. I'm sure they heard the noise and thought something was awry or whatever dogs may think. Regardless- the dogs wouldn't. stop. barking. James sister forgot to put them up last night. I couldn't take the barking and I felt bad for the neighbors. James got up and said that he might as well stay up since sleeping seemed moot at this point.

I on the other other hand laid back down and tried to find the most squishy part of the floor. (while trying NOT to think of all the other book shelves hanging on the walls in the room....like the one over my head. eep.) A few hours later I got up and found poor james asleep on the couch in the living room. Now im sitting next to him while he is passed out like a corpse. I feel like I've been beaten with a baseball bat. We are definitely the wonder couple I'm telling you.

Now I'm off to go buy a new air mattress- you know, the kind with a pump?

Fancy Dress 90's Style

Here in Ireland fancy dress is a popular thing. Well at this time of the year at least. For a while I thought fancy dress meant nice dress and suit type deal. No, no it doesn't, Fancy dress actually means costumes. (good thing I figured that out before I actually went to a fancy dress party...haha talk about awkward.)

James and I went to a fancy dress party a couple of weeks ago for our friends birthday. The theme was the 90's. All of the best pop culture icons from the decade. There were quite a few that I wasn't aware of since they were really popular over here and never made it to the states- like Boyzone, Take That, E 17, a few others that I cant even remember, or care to haha.

There were a few that we all know of course....

The spice girls!Marge Simpson and Madonna

...and a penguin. You couldn't see but Madonna had the gold bodysuit with the pointy boobs and all- it was fantastic!

There was Sinead O' Conner in all her glory....
He had pictures of the pope to burn and all...all for the sake of sticking to character of course. har har.

Of course I was told that I had to be a 90's Icon from the States. Since James had decided to be Kurt Cobain I figured there was no better choice than Courtney Love in all of her train wreck glory.

These are all horrible pictures of me and I looked a hot mess- but it was a good Courtney Love look for sure!Some TLC for Kurt....looks just like the real thing....haha

Rings pops....probably the closest thing to bling I'm going to get for a LONNNNGGG time.
The beginning of the end for Kurt.... drugs from morticia addams....(its actually vodka people)


Kurt near the end....to much from the needle (IE James spitting out the vodka...haha too funny)

True love at its finest

and...I'm never, ever wearing red lipstick ever again. or a blonde wig.

Stupid made up holidays

I'm so sorry I have been absent the last few weeks. I blame it on moving house and learning how to drive. but in reality we only were without internet for 3 or 4 days, so it was really just pure lazy.

you know what they say- procrastination is like masturbation- your only screwing yourself.

or maybe thats just me.

I actually dont have internet. well I do. but not really. We only have internet on my husband's PC. my laptop- nothing. no wireless. I HATE that I am paying 40 freaking euros a month and this stupid internet company doesn't provide a wireless router. WTF?? is it 2010 or is that just my imagination.

In our old place we had Chorus (or UPC not sure what its called, maybe both). They provided our cable and internet for around 65 euros a month. freaking steal in my book and both services were great. One of the irritating things about ireland is that coverage for cable, telephone and internet is weird and spotty. The people across the street from you or even next door may be able to get different providers than you get. So even though we live in a very new housing estate on the newer part of town- cant get upc. But we could in our ancient apartment? very very stupid. and yes the people across the road get it.
So long story short we are paying about 25 euros more a month for cable and Internet and its not as good. assholes.

oh yeah, and the cherry on that cake? we don't even have the cable yet. Its been 3 weeks. seriously. pulling. my. hair. out. Thank god we recorded so much on the DVR. I think I have watched everything on there twice. even james's stupid documentaries. (not that all documentaries are stupid- but some of his choices border on insanely boring)

BUT- the new house. LOVELY. I love it so much. I have been too lazy to get pictures yet. also we still dont have everything just the way i want it. (perfectionism much?) Its freaking huge- 3 bedrooms, huge living/kitchen, garden. we turned one bedroom into an office. it even has a leather sofa. That has quickly become james's hidey hole much to my displeasure but whatever. gimme cable- i'll be a much happier girl. oh and the wireless.

So its halloween week. Halloween is definitely different here than in the states. I miss the over the top-ness of it all. I miss the huge costume mega stores and all the businesses being decorated. I miss the huge halloween sections in target and walmart. I miss all the horrible candy and cheesy decorations. I miss seeing people's yards decked out in stuffed scarecrows and skeletons and spiderwebs. I miss seeing jack-o-lanterns. UGH. First big holiday besides fourth of july (and that was a huge depression day for me- another time for that story) and it just makes me melancholy. I was never that huge into halloween back home, but I miss the familiarity of it all. The pumpkins here are tiny. 5 euro for a large pumpkin.....I saw the size of the large pumpkin and had to laugh. Seriously that little bitty thing wouldn't pass for even a medium sized one in the states. we are talking cantaloupe size here people. Maybe i'll pick up a few after halloween for table decorations for thanksgiving.

Speaking of I am doing thanksgiving. the sunday before at James's family's house and then that thursday I am doing my own at my house. I'm inviting friends and crossing my fingers. I'm new at this cooking game still and this is a huge undertaking for me. I'm getting all nervous already. I couldn't sleep the other night in bed, just laying there freaking out over turkey and green bean casserole. haha fingers crossed.
My sisters freshmen year of college me and her best friend (we were both seniors in high school at the time) flew out to have thanksgiving with her. We got a turkey and the sides thinking we were going to cook a wonderful feast. (BTW none of us had probably even cooked a freaking chicken before). Well we forgot to take the turkey neck out of the butt and didn't notice until it had just about finished. couldn't make mashed potatoes and forgot nilla wafers for the banana pudding cause banana pudding is easier to make than pumpkin pie. So long story short we ate mac and cheese and cinnamon toast crunch banana pudding for thanksgiving dinner. (because cinnamon toast crunch is a good substitute for nilla wafers? no. cinnamon and banana flavored pudding are NOT a good combo. don't try it. I promise. Ask my sister for confirmation.)

So lets hope this years Thanksgiving turns out slightly better than that one. hehe.

So I'm driving. hurrah. Its still a little scary but im getting better and better. Hills still terrify the crap out of me. I'm good at the little ones, but the big ones, eep. and When nice big cars get right up on my ass when I'm at a hill. Panic time! But its going ok. I'm sticking to the major roads still because Irish roads are so so so narrow. I'm still shocked that some of these roads are two way. or that they are even called roads and not alleys. or small paved paths. Country roads? forget about it. for the time being. Which locks me into driving solely in and around limerick since the road system in Ireland is still old fashioned. Hardly any major highways here, which I guess isn't as old fashioned as, it is the way it is.

I bought a car off a friend. Its a jelly bean. a red jelly bean, with four tires. Thats about it. No air bags, no power steering (I miss power steering), no radio. no a lot of things. the no air bags thing really bugs me though. I mean- could i get one? please? no? ok fine. asshole car. but it gets me from point a to b. and it was 400 euro. I can live with that for a few months. cause trust me I'm selling this POS ASAP.

I will be posting pictures soon of the jelly bean and the apartment. Jelly bean for humor and apartment for pride. Seriously loving the place.

speaking of pictures my header is of king johns castle- in limerick. Where I lived before was about a 5 minute walk from the castle. I personally think this shot is one of the prettiest views in the city. Its gorgeous night or day. That can't be said for most of the rest of Limerick city.

This weekend was a bank holiday weekend. I don't really get what a bank holiday is- but it is always the monday before halloween. I guess its just kind of a fall break before the holiday season for a lot of business and the kids get a week off school. Its thrown off a lot of routines which can be seen through out the city- traffic patterns are weird, times when people are out are off- its thrown me off cause when I expect it to be quiet it out its so freaking busy. I won't complain too much though cause i got double pay on the bank holiday monday. double pay. I never ever got that in the states for ANY holiday much less a little fake one. Double pay even sounds nicer than time and a half. double pay? why yes, i'll take some.

It was mom's birthday last week- I sent her a nice little package with a TON of candy in it. (the lady at tesco was so judging me.) I sent her some wine gums- they are like gummy candy- there is NO alcohol in them- its just what they call them. I don't know why, but I know they are popular. So i sent them off to mom. One of the first thing she asks me is why am I sending her alcoholic candy. HAHA- I had to explain to her its just a name, no alcohol, that small children eat these regularly. cross my heart, needle in my eye the whole bit. I told my MIL about the conversation and she about died laughing. She got some wine gums today and told me she was going to go on a drunken binge with her candy.

alright ramble ramble I'm done- and headed to bed. The cable man is supposed to come tomorrow. It will be like Christmas come early!

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda.

So I have my first cold here.

Blah.

I'm thankful that I haven't been sick before now. Especially not being insured for about 4 months when I first got here.

Ok- revision. I did get sick right when I moved here. James and I both had horrible sore throats and I had the worst ear pain ever. But I just sucked it up and got over it since I had no money and no insurance. Not fun, I promise.

But now I have my first proper cold and it sucks.

The medicine here just isn't the same. I KNEW I should have loaded up on way my American meds than I did when I was moving over.

I told myself no big deal, I'm sure they have similar stuff or even a lot of the same stuff and its too expensive right now to be buying all these meds.

Stupid move there.

The meds here are mostly different. And even if they have some of the same brands that we have, they have them in different formulas and quantities.

Like for instance tylenol and advil? Different. First of all they don't even have Tylenol here- its Panadol and its a different active ingredient. And the largest quantity that you can buy is 24. And its expensive. I can buy 500 generic, target brand Tylenol for 3 bucks. Also the milligrams are way lower. Extra strength in the states is 500, here its 200.

Yeah i know its better for my body and liver and whatever, but my body is used to the higher dosages, so the lower stuff doesn't really do the job for me.

Thankfully I received a package from a good friend in the states with some Tylonel and Tums. (hurray antacids!)

But cold meds- different story. I just want some dayquil. Doesn't exist. Damnit. And the cold medicene here- costly. I just paid 10 euros for 24 sudafed. Different dosage and milligrams.

Whine, whine, whine. I know.

But I've learned an important lesson.

And the next time I'm in the states you better believe I'm buying out the medicine aisle. And having my mom stock up on sudafed for me since its so controlled in the states. (no such controls here, but they have them on panadol. weird.)

Also on a side note- I bought a car yesterday, from a friend who gave me a great deal. I'm still scared to drive it on Irish roads. Hopefully within the next week I won't be so timid. Think grandma driver. I just got car insurance this month. Apparently since I still have my American license the insurance is through the roof- but its only 100 euros per month for 9 months. I get two months free. Is that through the roof? I don't feel like it is at all. I know when I get my Irish license it will be cut in half at least. So I can pay the higher amount for now- and I'm pretty happy that I know it will be a lot lower. That's a difference I like! I was paying a ton in the states!

I'm feeling the love

Last week- week and a half ago? days are all blending in together- I was given my first blogging award! Hurray! It was from my friend Whitney who blogs about her new life in Brooklyn and her cute baby blake on her blog Let the good times roll. Check it out people! I appreciate it whit! Thanks




So now it seems that I have to tell you 7 things about myself...hmmmm.

1. I hate the cold. With a passion. Living in Utah 5 years only intensified my passion of all things cold. Including snow. I am not one of those people who get all excited when it snows. There are only two days where I want to see the white fluffy stuff- Christmas eve and Christmas day. Ireland was a good choice for nice hot sunny days right? right?!?

2. I was a total nerd in high school. awkward with a capital A. Just ask my sister. She was part of the "cool kids" so thankfully I was left alone more on that basis. But I definitely had my fair share of teasing though- and all of my friends were on the weird side of life. But now- I am so thankful for those awful, awkward years. They made me more open minded- more accepting and a much cooler person overall. And now I can look back at those people that made my life so miserable then and go ha-ha (think nelson from the simpsons).

3. My favorite food is biscuits and gravy. mmmmm. I could totally eat some now. Too bad they dont have biscuits here in Ireland. (and I'm not talking about cookies people)

4. I met my husband online. It wasn't in a totally creepy way- it was through a friend, who I also knew online. Who I knew through a friend in real life. Most people don't know how we actually know one another. We have agreed on a nice vague half-truth of telling people we met through a friend. I won't even tell you people how we REALLY know one another. Its not bad or creepy, just you have to know the group of friends to understand. But when I first met my husband, years ago- I had never even spoken to him on the phone. I went to a foreign country, strange city all through email correspondence. Thank god it all worked out- it could have been bad- I still don't ever recommend anyone to ever do that haha.

5. I think bodily functions/stories of bodily functions are hilarious. I wonder sometimes how mature I really am.

6. I freak out over finances- like all the time. I can have plenty of money in the bank, all the bills paid, a ton in savings and still get worried when we spend 40 euros in the grocery store. Thank god James and I always talk about them (or rather talk them to death). Thats one thing I never want to fight about and will do everything possible to avoid that. (we don't make any unnecessary purchases with out asking each other first. I know that would be stupid and weird for other people, but it works for us)

7. I am not in LOVE with living in Ireland. The US has such a romanticized view of this country. I'm not saying its bad- but its just different. And sometimes really hard. But little by little I'm getting used to being here and getting used to my new lifestyle. I'm hoping that one day I can stop comparing Ireland and the US and accept this place as home. Then maybe I can say that I love living here. :)

In addition to Whits award I also tagged in 8 questions by Lin over at Linnys Vault. She living and working in sunny SoCal and I have to say I'm having serious location envy!

1. If you could have any job, in any industry, what would it be?
Hmm I'm not sure really. There are so many things I kind of want to do. I would love to write some day. I would love to work within the criminal justice side of government. Honestly I think I would make a great lawyer. My husband thinks I should really start writing though. (I don't know if I have the self-confidence though!)

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Well I know husband wants to move to England or Germany, but in all honesty I see us still living in Ireland, Hopefully with a better job, a house, a little white dog, a busy James. Simple things really. (I also better have my big rock by then! this little wedding band is looking sad all on its lonesome)

3. What's the best vacation you've ever been on?

Hands down our backpacking trip across Europe last summer. It was our first real trip together and a huge test of our relationship. We spent a month going by train through 5 cities and back home to Ireland to meet the family. (We started in Madrid and went from there to Paris, Berlin, Venice and Rome.) Best city?? split between Berlin and Venice- Worst city? ROME. I don't think we will ever go there again. ugh.

4. If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

I hate this question. Just saying. But I would be really excited to meet Thom Yorke. I think we are the same height or something- hes so short looking. Of all the choices lame, I know. But I like his music and hes got some really interesting ideas.

5. What is you're favorite movie & why?

Thats hard to choose- but I have to go with my old standby of the 10th kingdom. Remember that made for tv movie on NBC? I love that non-hardcore total nerd fantasy kind of stuff and I also love fairy tales. It incorporates a lot of that and I think its funny. Its super long, the only downside.

6. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage?

Beer. Yeungling to be exact. But beer.

7. What's on your Christmas wish list?

Little white Dog. Multi-regional DVD player. A nice fire and a glass of wine with my husband while A Christmas Story is on repeat in the new multi-regional DVD player in the background.

8. If you had 1 million dollars what would you do with it?
Pay off my student debts, buy a house, a nice car- pay debts for my family. Stick the rest into savings. (so exciting right? James and I played this little game and I said exactly that. He laughed and said you were the most excited about the savings part weren't you? why yes, yes I was.)

Alright people I'm supposed to tag, but to be honest I'm a little lazy to be doing all of that at the moment, but I promise I will be back and tagging soon!
I'm going to go and read my damn book. There was no rest for the wicked this week.

Random Tuesday Thoughts- i got nothing. besides a headache.

Its Tuesday again. Man these weeks are flying by.

And when the hell did October get here? I feel like last October wasn't so long ago. Before you know it Christmas will be here. They are already putting Christmas cookies and candy out in the shops.
And James is doing his best to keep my eyes adverted. Oh blue tin cookies. I want you so badly.


Yuummmmmm. I wonder if they get these here? I think I've spied something similar in the German grocery stores here. If not I'm sending out a plea early!

Yeah so weight watchers? Its going ok. The leader is kinda...Tactless. That would be the best way to put it. The first meeting I get on the scale and she says "well we aren't going to see THAT weight again- are we?"
Wow. Talk about red faced me.
Then last week after two weeks- I hadn't lost as much as I wanted. That may be all the wine last week. sigh. But the leader says that she has never seen anyone NOT lose 6 pounds after the first week. (I lost 2.5). And then she looked at me. Judgement? Perhaps. Paranoia? YES.

So needless to say Ive stayed far away from wine this week- and been below points every day and fingers crossed for a better number this week. I really don't want any snippy comments this week.

So that post I posted yesterday. Remember how I said that things don't usually go this smoothly for us and that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Well consider that shoe dropped. And chewed by a vicious dog.
I called my landlord this morning to give him notice that we were signing a contract with another person and that this would be our last month in the apartment. With our security deposit as the last months rent he had about 6 weeks notice. Well he wasn't having that. He wanted to know why the hell we would do that (I explained about the noise and that we were married and we needed more space. I said that the apartment was nice, but it wasn't large enough for us. And the noise was really too much for us.)
He proceeded to tell me that we had a contract and that it was binding and basically too bad you are stuck there until May. I told him that we were going to move and that as we are breaking the contract early he would keep the deposit. Standard for most tenency agreements. He told me that it wasn't how it worked in Ireland (BULLSHIT) and that He thought I was lying about the noise. He said I think your fucking telling me a story. Its not loud down there at all.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Its not loud on a street with 6 pubs and a night club?? Its a street party EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. I told him he had to just spend one night here to see how loud it was. Any night- take your pick. He told me tough cookies and that if we left early that he would have his solicitor after us.

He threatened law suit. Really? ??!? what an ASSHOLE.

I was sitting there FREAKING OUT. We were supposed to meet the new landlord in 30 minutes and give him a huge chunk of money. what are we supposed to do??

So I cried a little and then James came home and we went right to citizens information. They told us basically what our landlord said was bullshit. The most he could do was get the remainder of the rent from us, which was shaky since we gave him so much notice. So we said- ok fine. Its not worth staying in this apartment- especially after the treatment I received from the landlord.

So basically long story short- our landlord sucks. And we have a new place. And its pretty.

So im celebrating!! whoo hoo! And I'm also hoping that I either get someone to sublet or my landlord comes to his senses. Cause if not we are going to go all the way with this and get a solicitor ourselves.

Yeah so I applied for a new job today. I saw the local tesco was looking for a manager. I know that I have the qualifications for the job, so what the hell. It would be awesome if I got this job, but I have no expectations and I am DETERMINED not to get my hopes up. I'm leaving that on the back burner for now.

Yeah so I forget that my dad is on my facebook. I am so close to deleting him. How rude would that be though? He is just a snoop! I don't want him to see my business on there. Its so annoying. I know that deleting him would cause a lot of unnecessary arguments. ugh. Anytime he sees something on there that he thinks he should put his two cents in about he's calling me. GRRRR. freaking facebook. they should have a no-parents policy.

My husband was telling me about a bridezilla he saw the other day. (he would never ever admit to watching this to anyone else. but he will watch shit TV every so often. hehe.) Apparently this bride was completely psycho. She pulled all of her bridesmaid in another room and was criticizing all of them telling them to have their hair a certain way or don't do this or that. She pulled one girl aside in particular and said that she had noticed that she had been gaining weight over the last few months and that she had bought her a new dress in a bigger size. Needless to say not only did that particular girl drop out of the wedding but was no longer friends with this woman. I woulda done the same thing. Who does that woman think she is? Yeah shes getting married, but that doesn't give her total control over other peoples lives or to be a complete bitch. Thats not bridezilla- that's just bad person.

my husband makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever. why I can't do that? no clue. But seriously. Addicting. thank god for weight watchers bread.

Have you seen the new Ikea commerical?

I don't even like cats but I love this commercial. And I wonder who sings that song- I really like it. Also I just love Ikea. Oh simple swedish designs. Cheap prices. I wish there was one in Limerick.

Back to the future is in the theaters. I need to go. Yes this movie has been around for 25 years and I can buy it for 5 bucks, but i think its something that would be 1000 times cooler on the big screen.

Alright- everyone else go and random it up with the Un-mom.

From baby steps to big leaps

I've been thinking about blogging all week long (I know its Monday, but my week started on last Wednesday). I feel guilty for my lack of response or for commenting on all of these great posts that I've been reading the past couple of days. I'll get there- I just need to find the time. I think (time prioritization issues? why yes!)

First of all- the sookie stackhouse books. Strangely addicting- I find myself sometimes annoyed by them but I can't seem to stop. oh so good. And there are so many. I'm on book six right now. I want the whole story- like now. But I'm really enjoying the process of getting there. Also I'm getting annoyed by things like work, eating, showering, cleaning getting between me and these books. sigh. I need to stop time for a little while and sit in a room with no windows and these books. *stares off into space*

Well I'm off for the next three days. I had these great plans of sitting on my ass and doing nothing. Foiled again!

We have been looking for a new place to live. Not that we don't enjoy our apartment, but between the drunks, everything being half broken and that fact that we are being WAAYYY overcharged on rent, its time to go. We had an appointment this morning to look at a three bedroom house. We show up- the area is nice, the house-eh. It has three bedrooms but the garden was tiny, the bedrooms tiny, the furniture looked like it was from the set of the Brady bunch (and possibly used since the 70's) and the appliances were old and crappy. not exactly what I was expecting. The rental agent was a real jerk too. We said the house seemed nice and that we would contact him when we made a decision, but as soon as we left I told James that I wasn't happy with it. The next place we get we plan on staying there until James is done with school and then for some time after. This next place will probably be the last we rent before we buy so we want it to be something we love.

Well so we come home and I said ok back to square one. We looked at another house we found earlier in the week and said lets give this one a shot. I called the landlord and agreed to meet up with him this evening. Well we struck gold with this place. Its a corner apartment, three bedrooms and has a garden. It hits all of the points on our check list and even has all of our optional wish list items. On top of all that the apartment was HUGE. The en suite bathroom in the master is larger than the bathroom in our current apartment. The hall bathroom is larger than my bedroom. We have an open green space in the back of the apartment, close parking in the front and a good sized garden to the side. Its everything we wanted and more. As soon as we walked around and taken a good look at everything we looked at each other and said "We must have this place." We talked to the landlord and lo and behold, we have a new home.

WHOO HOO!!

We are giving him the deposit and first months rent tomorrow (the part I don't like since its a big chunk of money) and getting our keys. I'm also really happy with the landlord. The apartment is actually owned by his son, who moved to England. So I'm happy that its family owned and not through a rental agency. It makes me feel better that the landlord has a personal investment in the property. It makes me feel like if something is wrong or broken that it WILL get fixed, unlike in my current place. Also if we need anything the landlord just said tell him and he will provide. That's a great thing to hear. I cannot express how much I love that rental properties come fully furnished in this country.

The only catch about the new place is the location. Its actually one of the best parts of the new house. Its on the other side of town in an area called Dooradoyle which is one of the newer developed part of the city. Its in a nicer housing estate, surrounded by newer housing estates. There are good shops close by and a large shopping center with a nice and big grocery store about a 10 minute walk away. Its close to everything we want and need. I will miss living across the street from the grocery store, but that might actually lead to smarter grocery shopping on my part! The problem is my work and James' university is on the other side of the city. It is do-able transportation wise with the buses, but a pain in the ass since we would have to take two buses to get to where we need to be. so basically leave over an hour before we need to be anywhere. Also life will be much much easier with a car. So we told ourselves that if we moved to this area the next step is buying a car. Thankfully I have been doing driving lessons with my MIL and have progressed to the point of driving on the road. (Driving on the wrong side of the road/car?? weird. doing that while driving stick shift?? difficult. plenty of concentration needed haha)
So that being said I think I will be buying a car this week as well. A friend of mine recently bought a new car and is selling his. We have been talking here and there about me buying it. I told him I couldn't give him any definite answers until we find a place. So I'll be looking at the car Wednesday. I know that this car isn't new or nice or anything close. In fact I know this car is a clunker. But honestly I'm ok with that. I don't plan on driving long distances with this car or even taking it out of limerick. I just want to get from home to work or to the grocery store. As long as that car can do it for a year I'm satisfied.

Its a lot of big changes that are coming up fast. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. It all seems too good to be true right now. I don't usually have things fall into place so easily so I guess I'm waiting for something to go wrong. I think I'm more worried about getting the car situation and the money situation. I know we have enough money to do all of this but I hate not having that savings cushion. Even at our most broke we had a nice egg nest in savings. I guess that is what savings is for- a rainy day, a new opportunity. And thankfully with this job we will be able to build our savings up quickly enough.

Also I feel like I waited for months for something- anything to happen. In the past month I've gotten a job, learned a HELL of a lot more than I knew before, learned to drive stick, and now I'm moving. I feel like I'm starting to really get my feet wet now. Its good and scary all at the same time. Its cutting more ties with the states. Getting further along in my life in Ireland. Almost in a way admitting to myself that I really am here for good (Which I really haven't done in my own way).

So onwards and upwards! And hopefully pictures of this new place to follow soon!