Day 2

I took 84 pictures today, and the internet is being difficult.  I will give it another try tomorrow.  I hope these tide you over

Dad was really happy to have coffee

The red door is the entrance to the smallest bar in Ireland.  The bar can only fit six people/

Statue of Molly Malone a.k.a "The Tart with a Cart"

Pictures of Day 1

Patrick being a dork

I didn't even go in.

Dad doing his impression of Paddington Bear

This should make Katie laugh

Look closely Katie, the poster says Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Lunch.  Fried tofu

Our hotel room

more of the room

still more room

we have a balcony

One of the bedrooms

Dublin Airport

Thank god we made it!

After our flight out of Mpls was delayed 3 or 4 times, we finally got on the flight to Chicago.  Luckily, that delay meant that we had NO delay when we got to the Chicago airport.  We walked from one plane to the other with nothing more than a pit stop in between.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I was not expecting that long of a flight.  I knew the length of the flight, I understand the concept of time, but this was something very different.  The excitement of traveling somewhere new, and the amazing movies (sarcasm) kept me awake.  I AM AN IDIOT!  I could not sleep.  Right now, it is 10:30 am, the beginnning of a new day, and all I want to do is sleep.  I will fight the good fight.  I will stay awake.

I have a bunch of pictures that I will post as soon as we get our rooms.

Let the countdown begin

I am hoping that the recent eruption in Iceland won't cause any trouble in the travel department.  I am already nervous enough about a the long flight and how my sanity will hold up during that time.  That being said, I am extremely excited and nervous about the whole endeavour.  I am leaving a lot of people that I really love and cherish back at home to go on what might turn out to be the adventure of a lifetime.

In an attempt to be as sentimental as possible, and also to make everyone know I care, I am going to take a little time to recognize all the people that are making this trip possible and who I am leaving behind. (dramatic, isn't it?)

I was a little nervous about going on this vacation.  I knew that with Mike's new found fear of airplanes (I think he is more afraid of the airport staff) I would be going on this trip without him.  It is going to be difficult going so far away without my partner in crime.  He is always there to understand my jokes, even if they are just clicks and whistles.

My co-workers get to travel with me in spirit.  I know that there is some major jealousy going on, but I know that they wish me the best as well.  They are the best.  It has been really rough not being surrounded by such an awesome group of people every day.  Although waking up later every day has it's perks. :-) 

The family that isn't coming along with me, I know that I have their support and well wishes too.  (there is probably a little jealousy there too)

The ragtag bunch of misfits that will be going with me are Dad, Martha, Missy, Patrick and his girlfriend Genevieve.  When we make it to England, we will be meeting up with Amy who is studying abroad there.  With Missy coming along, I can only imagine how many photos will be taken.  It should be a really good mix of people, and I am sure that we will have a great time.

For the next couple of days I need to do some more shopping and tie up some loose ends.  I have all of my bills paid, so I guess almost everything is just waiting Sunday.  I will keep everyone updated when I start getting closer.

Vacation is not always relaxation

Other than my Mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!), today will also be known as Menard's day.  I asked dad last night if he would be so kind as to bring over his roto-tiller when he came over this morning so that I could start up the garden this morning.  Before dad arrived, I went to Menard's to pick up garden soil, and seeds of all varieties.  Kevin and I got back and put all the recently purchased items close to the garden, and I waited for dad to get to the house.  Around 10:30 am or so, he pulls up and we start talking about what parts we will need for installing the new washer and dryer that I purchased a week or so ago.  We promptly left for Menard's...again.

When returned with our armloads of stuff, dad starts working on the installation while I work on the garden.  After I have broken the roto-tiller that came over on the Mayflower, dad comes out and shows me how to fix it.  After it is up and running again, I go in to check on dad's progress.  We realize that we need some different parts and head back towards.....you guessed it...Menard's.

Dad and I split off again.  I planted all of my plants, and vegetables, and looked triumphantly at my accomplishment.

This picture doesn't do it justice.  This years crop will be Onions, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, green beans, peppers, spinach, cilantro, basil, parsley, raspberries, and blackberries.  I will be accepting the donation of more raspberry  bushes from a co-worker after I return to work.  In a few pots, I will be growing calla lilies.

It was time to go back in and check on dad and see how it was coming along.

There he is, working diligently behind the dryer.  He did such an awesome job!  He had to run a whole new gas line, and exhaust for the dryer.  After a short and slightly unnerving gas leak, and one more trip to Menard's

I am now the proud owner of a fully functional washer and dryer. 

Nothing against dad, but I think it would be a lot easier on both of us if I shopped somewhere else that offered installation.....

A day at the spa

Although I would like to tell you that my day was stress free, and filled with pampering, it was only MOSTLY stress free.  I found out last week that there was a leak in the freon line going in to the house.  That came with mixed feelings.  Happiness, that I finally knew why my house would never get cold; Sadness when I realized how much such a thing would cost me.  A/C repair can be quite the racket.  Although, on a hot and sunny day, I can imagine that some people would be willing to pay twice as much to sleep outside of an oven.

Now that I have the "work" type stuff out of the way, I will tell everyone about my trip to the spa.  I am not usually the type to indulge in spa days, but for some reason this sounded like something I needed to try.  Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I brought a book and a swimsuit.  I knew that I was going in for several different things, but I will be damned if I knew what the dress code was.

I started off my adventure with a nice pedicure.  They soak your feet with your choice of scents (not sure if I can tell the difference) and then they give you the standard pedicure that most women have indulged in once or twice in their life.  After the glorious pedicure was complete, I started into the unknown territory.  The hydro-therapy.  This was a little intimidating.  You go into a room that contains something that looks like an escape pod from a spaceship.  After putting on a hilariously small outfit (the details of that outfit will go with me to my grave) you climb into the escape pod and have it close around your whole body leaving only your head out in the open.  The water jets start, and it feels like being caught out in the rain.  Like you have gone to the water park, only to have the weather not cooperate.  It was a very gentle and calming feeling.  Then the massage jets start, and you feel like you are  trapped in a sprinkler.  It's isn't a bad thing, it is just odd.  The rhythmic water spurts start to play a beat within your own head.  The water jets take a break so that you can have a whole body exfoliation.  It is slightly abrasive, but wonderful.  The water jets start back up again to rinse off the exfoliate, and then the jets stop again long enough to put a layer of oil on. I am almost certain that the amount of oil on my skin made me look like I was looking for the runner-up prize at a local body-building competition, it definitely made me feel comfortable. 

After drinking a couple glasses of water I headed into another room and started a massage.  When I ordered this spa package, I was unaware the length of each service that was going to be provided.  The massage ended up being 2 hours.  Without a doubt, the longest massage that I have ever had.  All said and done, I spent 5 hours at the spa.  It is a day that will not be trumped any time soon.  I guess I started off my vacation on a good note.

And so the vacation from work begins.....

I was thinking that I should use this blog for my upcoming vacation only, but I recently decided that it might be nice for some people to follow all that I do during my extended vacation from work.

On Friday I went to see Bridesmaids.  I must admit, that it was a lot funnier than I expected.  There were some truly heartwarming points, and I found myself identifying with the main character. (Probably because she is a total wack-job)  There was one scene that I could not watch (I have a problem with vomit), but the rest of it was pretty genius.  It had all the components of a good comedy, and it wasn't too cutesy.

Saturday Mike and I went out to IHOP for breakfast.  We both had delicious omelets, and I got a side of pancakes.  After forcing Mike to try their deliciousness, he was clamoring for more.  It is nice to know that I have some idea of what he likes, even if he insists that he doesn't like something.  Who can turn down a delicious pile of pancakes?  A monster, that is who.  Later on, we went and fed my hobby monster and went to the casino.  We spent a couple hours walking around and enjoying the blips, and bloops of the mighty machines.  Oh how I love those machines.  One of these days I need to find something that gets my attention as much as those machines do.  I don't play them for the possibility of winning, I play them for the mini-games that lie within the game.  Their design is pretty brilliant when you think of it.  People investing money to allow them to play a hidden game within the game.  Sure, most people play with the hope of "hitting it big", but I see a lot of people get excited when they hit the bonus round regardless of the end payout.

Sunday, we slept in for a while.  I woke up and cleaned the house.  Then I went out in the yard and mowed more of the lawn, and pulled out some of the weeds.  For those of you that came out to the house last year, you will notice that there is about 75% less weeds this year.  It truly was a hostile take-over.  I called in a service to help me deal with them.  I had nightmares that the weeds would start growing in the house.  That they would knock on the window, and the cats would let them in.  Luckily, the cats don't have thumbs, otherwise that would be a likelihood.  All in all, not very exciting, but I kind of wish we had some photos of me in the yard.  It was pretty hilarious.  I was out there in a normal outfit with my giant headphones.  I was dancing behind the lawnmower, and sometimes even doing a little kick or a twirl.  I think my neighbors would be worried, but I assume that they already are.

More to come.........Later on, the adventures of A/C repair, and a visit to the spa.....