Taking out the old, bringing in the new(ish)

  Last month we finally crossed the first item off our to-do before baby list-
1. Buy a new (ish) car. (With airbags preferably)

So we went from this:

  Ah little red jellybean of death, you were a good car. You kept going long past your expiry date.

 And used a little bit of this:

 Seriously the most Euros I have held at one time...I had to take a picture to prove to myself that yes at some point I have had money.

And got ourselves one of these:

New shiney......its still over a decade old, but we are almost in the current mellinia with our cars now!

And its got all of this:

AIRBAGS! POWER STEERING! A RADIO!

Here in Ireland you can get cars that are 13, 14, even 15 years old and they will still be in great condition. Its a lot harder to get insane milage on cars since Ireland is only but so big. My '96 Corsa only had 83,000 when I sold her to the big car lot in heaven (scrapped!). We were able to get this car with only 103,000 miles on it and its 13 years old!

I have to say, I'm loving the new car. I HATED to drive the last car and I'm really enjoying the small things like a cupholder and listening to the radio. Who knew a 13 year old used car could bring so much happiness?!? One thing I am really thankful for as well is the airbags. Our last car was a basic as basic gets. I felt really uncomfortable driving it after finding out I was pregnant since there was no airbags...meaning if I got into an accident there was nothing between my abdomen and the steering wheel! Also I would have never put a car seat in the last car!

As much as I disliked my last car I felt pretty nostalgic about letting it go. It was the first car I bought in Ireland....we had NOTHING when I first moved here and I had to start over from scratch. Buying that little car (for 400 euro mind you!) was a huge step for me in making a life for myself here. I drove her back and forth all over the city, county (and once even to Dublin!) for nearly two years! I learned how to drive manual in her, and on the wrong side of the road/car. So I did feel sad as I drove off the lot and left the little red jellybean behind. But now I have a lot to look forward to and I'm hoping my new car (name pending!) will be able to deliver the same kind of durability that I got from my first car (and not cost me too much in petrol!)

And now next on the list....a DRYER!!

Baby brain....it does exist

Man oh man, I thought people were exaggerating about baby brain. Well they aren't. I have never been so forgetful and so slow on the uptake in my life. I forget what I'm talking about mid sentence....I am continually misplacing things (I discovered I put all the cat food in the fridge the other day) I'm mixing up my words in my sentences and if I don't make lists of what I intend of doing that day then its probably not getting done!

I've always prided myself on my sharp mind, memory and my quick wit....well for the next few months thats all gone to the wayside!

This is a perfect example:

This little silly internet meme....A silly stupid joke. That I didn't get. For 3 days. I finally said it to James after I saw a fourth person sharing it on facebook. And then it took him about 5 minutes to explain it to me. And then I laughed at myself for about 5 more minutes. And then cried, just a little.

Hormones...yet another awesome side effect.

Can't wait to share more of my baby brain moments with you guys...they are happening at an alarming rate!

Some Thursday tidbits

I really should be getting ready for work right now, but I really really don't want to work today. The one time in my life I should be feeling like working overtime to save money for the baby but I just wanna lay on the couch. Boo responsibility!

• I really gotta get James driving now that he has a job. I am having to wake up hours before I need to so I can drive him to the other side of town for work. Still super happy about the job, not loving my chauffeur duties though. 
• My neighbor is a bad guy gangster, for real. His job involves a lot of, lets just say illegal things. We've known about it for a while but here you keep your head down and mouth shut about these things. Doing other wise will get you in some hot water since the Guarda (police) have no real power to stop these gang families. Recently though he has gotten a lot more open about the entire situation. Yesterday the road in front of my house was full of cars with English reg plates (license plates) and several men watching the house. And all watching me as I got in my car to go to work. Seriously I hate being intimidated just trying to live my life. Can't wait until our lease is up and we are the HELL out of here. 
• I love fruit....I used to not be such a fan but I feel like some of the produce we get here in Ireland can be better quality than the stuff in the states (even if it is from Spain and Africa) There are certain things though, that you just can't get here. Like good cantaloupe (my fave) or a real watermelon. They are tiny here and cost a fortune! I must take a picture the next time I come across them in the grocery store! 
• I'm meant to go to Belgium in October for a Radiohead concert. I bought the tickets way back in February before little baby Taylor was even a zygote. Little did I know come October i will be somewhere in the 8 month mark. Yikes...I really hope I get to go...this may be my last chance for a very long time and besides, who doesn't want to see Belgium? I hear good things and am a big fan of both waffles and chocolate! 
• I just bought a groupon for a cruise around the Cliffs of Moher and a trip to one of the Aran Islands for only 15 euros....Freaking steal! I'm sure the weather will be crap, but hopefully the views will be so cool I won't care about it!
• Something that makes me smile every morning when I hear it....some of the radio stations here do traffic reports....for the entire country. I find this hilarious that the country can be so small that you can cover all major problem areas in under 2 minutes reporting. 

Sigh....back to the real world. Time to layer up and head off to work. Only one more day before my weekend though! woohoo! 

Ten on Tuesday

I'm playing my "Will always blog this on a Tuesday" blog along with Lin over at Linny's Vault....go check her out- 1. Cause shes awesome and 2. Cause its her blogiversay and shes the one giving away stuff. That's doubly awesome!!



 1. I have a head cold/sinus infection/something evil going on right now. So unfair. I think pregnant women should get a pass on all sorts of normal ailments since our bodies are pretty much in self destruct mode while carrying a mini human.
Anyways since I can't take most medication right now I've been suffering Au natural...they have this amazing stuff in Ireland called Olbas Oil...someone introduced me (or as the Irish would say, copped me onto it) this stuff last winter when I was sick. Basically its like an Altoid, in oil form, concentrated. Put a little on a tissue and breathe in. Its heaven...I reek of it right now, but I don't care cause I can breathe!

 2. One of our friends gave me an orchid when she found out that we were expecting. Super sweet and I LOVE orchids, I just happen to have a very bad habit of killing them shortly after getting them...I'm delighted to say I have kept this bad boy alive for 2 months now! Maybe I am ready to take care of a child after all! (baby steps rach, baby steps)

Look-it! Thriving and everything! 

 3. My sister sent this to me in an email the other night. She knows me and my love of all jokes in the bodily functions category too well.

 4. I went to my first sleepover in about 10 years the other night. Two of our good friends are getting married in July and the bride-to-be had her Hen (or as we call them in the States, bachorlette party) over the weekend. Those of us who couldn't afford the Hen (as they can run pretty pricey) decided to spend some time with her at a girls sleep over! We had pizza and watched bad chick flicks and of course, played the toilet paper dress game...where we had a 3 way tie so the losers won the prize haha! It was lots of fun and its so nice to do things in Ireland that don't involve THE PUB.

 5. Ok, so this no caffeine while pregnant thing? I'm calling bull-shit. There I've said it. I have given up drinking (no big deal for me), smoking (bigger deal, but I wanted to quit anyways) and I've gone off crisps (potato chips) and chocolate. I am drinking all the coffee and diet coke that I want. I mean, obviously I won't drink more than I would normally would but I'm not going caffeine free. This is a recent enough medical thing and I really don't think I am going to harm my child by having a cup of coffee. Its actually more of an American taboo anyways...here in Ireland people would think you were crazy if you told them they couldn't drink tea and coffee because they were expecting. (also my doctor is totally cool with casual drinking while pregnant....I nearly laughed in his face when he said that....obviously the attitudes are more relaxed in this country about these kinds of things...and No, I have no desire to casually drink while pregnant!)

6. My back is killing me. and my left hip. And both of my feet keep on getting charlie horses in them while I'm walking. If you saw me in the grocery store last night I may or may not have resembled Igor from Young Frankenstein.

 Walk this way.....No! This way!

7. Speaking of the grocery stores....Irish grocery stores can be extremely frustrating. It was super hard for me to get used to shopping here. I mean I have by this stage, but there are still things that I don't know if I will ever get used to. Like product disappearing and the chances of it never coming back likely. This is a common occurrence. I think I am going to dedicate a separate post to this one...I can feel a vent coming on.

8. James was in a village called Kilkee for a couple of days last week. Its the biggest "beach town" in the area and where everyone in Limerick goes for their seaside holidays. In the two years I've lived here I had never made it down to Kilkee so I was pretty excited to get to go down Saturday to pick James up and have lunch with some of the boys (who were on an "anti-hen" weekend).

 Me on the "beach"....don't judge....it was super windy and FREEZING outside. Perfect beach weather right??

 The view is pretty nice when I'm not in the way haha! Kilkee is like a small Inlet I'm guessing...I would consider this more of a bay than anything...but I was told otherwise. What do I know.

Annndddd this is pretty much the ENTIRE "beach" and a good majority of the village your seeing here in this picture. I will NEVER get over how small the beaches are here. I mean, they are TINY. Of course when I say this I always get scoffed at and told well "don't you think your just great with your big huge American beaches" and blah blah. I mean, I've seen plenty of beaches in England which are all small enough, but a hell of a lot bigger than the ones in Ireland! Not that there's anything wrong with that....I just wouldn't call it a beach, per se.
The village was nice, but very small. Big enough by Irish standards I suppose. I don't think I could spend more than one night there before going nuts. We had a lovely, extremely over priced lunch before we left. At least it wasn't raining! haha!

9. I broke the screen on my phone and I'm using my back up phone. I really miss my phone...I will not bitch about my phone anymore. I also didn't realize how phone-dependent I was. Thank god for phone insurance. Must not drop it in the future.

10. Its about 10:30 at night and still really bright out. Its the time of the summer where the sun doesn't set until around 11, sometimes 11:30 at night (on a really sunny day). I am loving the longer days, but I find it irritating when I have to wake up super early and its too bright to sleep in the bedroom....I really shouldn't complain since I will be craving this come December when its dark by 3:30 in the afternoon....

It all comes around...

Good things are happening folks.

I feel like my first two years living overseas have been very rollercoaster-y. It is not easy for anyone living overseas, but to move to a country right as the economy collapses, and even better, to one of the hardest hit cities...not the best timing or ideal situation. It's been pretty hard to for us to establish ourselves, for me to put down some roots and to feel stable on our feet. Lets just say there have been a lot of tear filled nights.

But finally, there is a lot of good on the horizon. I can finally see a viable future for my little family and see my time here in Ireland is going to turn a good leaf!

James finished college in May and has thrown himself into the job hunt...and after only a month on the market has landed himself a full time job! Finding a good job is hard enough, much less a full time job! I'm not terribly religious but that is nothing short of a blessing. Especially now that we have a baby in the very near future (is it just me or are these weeks just FLYING by?). I couldn't help but to cry when James called to tell me he got the job! I remember my job hunts here in Ireland and it was months and months of frustration, rejection and going in circles...so this was fantastic news all around! We can now afford things like decent housing and we can afford to replace things and buy more than just the essentials! We aren't going to know ourselves in a few months!

I also found out today that James has passed all of his courses and will be awarded his degree this August! To me that is the best news! I feel like all of James's hard work and sacrifice has paid off and my moving to Ireland has been worth it!

It totally feels like we are finishing this somewhat rocky chapter in our lives and starting a fresh, new exciting one with some huge changes! I feel so much happier than I've been my last two years here. I feel like I'm starting to fit in and accept my life here, and even, just maybe...enjoy some of the quirks of living in Ireland.

Good things people, good things.

Ten on Tuesday

1. First things first.....where did May go?!? seriously. That month freaking flew by. I'm gonna need these months to slow it down just a bit....I need more time to save and um plan and SLEEP. mostly sleep.

2. Speaking of sleep I'm tired. Pretty much all the time but not that I'm at the end of my first trimester I'm not nearly as exhausted as I was. I'm finding that I'm not sleeping through the night though since I'm getting up 5 and 6 times a night to use the bathroom. I thought that was something that didn't happen until the end!

3. Had a woman come into my work today...I've seen her a few times and she is a little mad and notoriously cranky. She is also in a wheel chair but in my mind that has nothing to do with her as a person. She came in while I was helping another person and she went right up to the counter and began talking to me as if no one was there. I said to her (in the nicest way possible) that I would be with her in just one minute and the woman freaked out- started screaming how dare I speak to her like she is vegetable and she is going to report me and blah blah. Both me and the woman I was helping just looked at her speechless....The woman then said she didn't want to deal with me so I got my co-worker for her. She then proceeded to tell my co-worker for 20 minutes what a horrible person I was. And its people like THAT which make me HATE working with the general public!

4. I finally saw this movie last night:

It was absolutely brilliant! I can't believe I waited so long to watch it! Colin Firth did an amazing job but I think I most like how Helena Bonham Carter pulled off the role as Queen Mother so well when she usually plays crazy spinster roles!

5. Despite how much I loved the movie I bawled like a baby for about 20 minutes after watching the movie....hurray for hormones! It was pretty funny though seeing the hubs frantically flipping through the what to expect for expectant fathers book though trying to figure out what the hell to do for an inconsolable partner who is crying for no reason at all! lol

6. I have such itchy feet....dying to take a trip! I really must go to some places around Ireland that are close enough to Limerick. I have a car that I can trust to take out of town now (woot!)

7. We are going to buy one of these next month:

 This, my friends, is called a condenser dryer. Its just like a regular tumble dryer expect no need for a vent. All of the water is condensed into a tank which I empty after a couple of loads...super handy because I can pretty much stick it in any corner with a socket! I REFUSE to not only live in a cold rainy country with no dryer, but to throw having an infant in the mix. no thank you. My days of having sandpaper texture towels are coming to a close!

8.I miss target. and wal-mart. really bad. damn....I'd even take a K-mart right about now. Never thought I'd say that.

9. I find that my priorities are starting to shift already. For the first time in my life working as much as possible is taking a back seat to a desire to actually take care of myself. Too bad we need money more than I need naps in the afternoon!

10. I'm a little bit ashamed to say I seriously still have st. patricks day decorations up in my kitchen. I mean, at first I was just lazy, but now I don't even notice them. I only realized it today because a friend called over for coffee and they made her laugh. I'm not ashamed enough to actually take them off the wall though...